Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) which has the mandate of protecting intellectual property has stated it made a combined seizure of pirated goods and materials worth N4.38 Billion and successfully prosecuted 31 copyright cases with 26 convictions in 2012.
Afam Ezekude, director general and chief executive of the Commission said that between July 2011 and December 2012, it secured 29 convictions of pirates of copyright-protected books, musical and movie works, broadcast signals and software products.
The number of convictions shows a phenomenal increase from 10 convictions recorded by the Commission in 10 years, between 2000 and 2010.
He stated that the Commission recorded the decade-high result because it intensified anti-piracy operations last year, arresting a total of 85 suspected pirates and confiscated 3,621,787 million units of pirated goods worth about N4.38 billion
“This feat which had never been recorded in the 22 years of the Commission can be traced to the enhanced surveillance activities of the Commission’s operatives, support of stakeholders, and more importantly, our synergy with the Nigerian Customs Service under our Inter-Agency collaboration initiative,” said Ezekude.
He applauded sister governmental agencies which cooperated in an inter-agency partnership such the Customs, which also established a protocol which makes it mandatory for any importer of copyright-protected goods to obtain a letter of clearance from the NCC as pre-condition for clearance and release of such regulated goods by the Customs.
The Commission’s enforcement measures in collaboration with the Customs was the historic and unprecedented confiscation of a total of 13 containers of 3.6 million 3,613,315 units of pirated products, valued at four billion, seven hundred and fifty million Naira (N4.75 billion) at different seaports in the country.
“11 of the containers were loaded with pirated books of Nigerian and foreign authors while the remaining two were loaded with pirated musical and film works of local and foreign titles,” said Ezekude.
The Commission also notes that last January it destroyed by public burning 722 million units of various categories of copyright infringing products impounded between 2007 and 2011, estimated at N6.5 billion in Epe, a Lagos suburb.
“The essence of the exercise was to ensure that the materials are permanently prevented from entering into the channels of trade; and also send a warning signal to perpetrators of piracy that it was no longer business as usual.”
Ezekude who was upbeat about the Commission’s achievements noted that there was an improved international rating of Nigeria in the global fight against piracy stated that the enhanced protection of local and foreign copyright works attracted increased investment in the copyright based industries.
“There are clear indications of a reduction in the level of domestic piracy which impacted positively in the legitimate copyright businesses as operators have reported over 50% increase in the profit margin for the year under review.”
The Commission initiated a mechanism for the reform of the Nigerian copyright system to address the challenges that modern digital technology pose to the country’s existing inadequate copyright frameworks.
Noting that Nigeria was the first African country to undertake the comprehensive copyright reform as did China, India and Brazil, the Director-General stated: “The goals of the reform process include; updating the Copyright Act to meet the challenges of the digital age; to encourage and reward new forms of creativity and provide a platform for the creation, commercialization and broad diffusion of new knowledge, while enabling Nigerian businesses to profit from expanding global trade in cultural goods, which is currently heavily skewed in favour of countries with fully developed copyright systems.”