CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
It is a known fact that the greatest heritage of a nation remains
the creativity of its citizens, and therefore one of the primary
functions of law enforcement agents and other appropriate authorities
is to protect the ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation of the
citizenry. However, Nigeria has joined the league of nations that have
enacted domestic legislations to protect the copyrights and creativity
of its citizens against any undue infringement. The principal
legislation in this regard is the Nigerian Copyright Act, which is
hinged on the fact that any copyright infringement is stealing
(Thomson, 2009).
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the
world has continued to experience astronomical advancement in scientific
and technological innovations which have changed the face of modern
society, leading many thinkers to term this present civilization ‘the
jet age’ (Ajirere, 2008). This technological advancement has had
enormous impact on the world’s copyright enforcement authorities and
the legal systems in general, disrupting traditional modes of
protection of intellectual property, and has left the law completely in
a state of flux, literally gasping to catch pace with the ever
changing forms of innovations (Ethan, 1992). In Nigeria, the life of
every average citizen now revolves around one or more of these
technologies, such as computers including palmtops and hi-tech phones,
satellite and cable receivers/signals, facsimile transmissions and the
perpetually growing internet (Ayemi, 2010).
Over the years, since the country achieved
independence, Nigeria has benefited immensely from the magnanimity of
copyright related products. Section 1(1) of the Copyright Act provides
protection and confers copyright status on the following innovative
products: literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematograph
films, sound recordings, and broadcasts. The spectrum of these products
implicitly covers digital innovations like computer software,
satellite and cable broadcasts, and reprographic transmissions. Thus,
as at 2008, the totality of copyright based industries operating in the
country contributed just about N1.2 trillion to the Nigeria gross
domestic income, a figure publicly made known by the authorities during
the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (Ayemi,
2010).
Notwithstanding the above, and especially the
enormous benefits which the country has derived from copyright related
products, Nigeria still remains the largest piracy destination and
market in the world invariably in the same products ostensibly
protected by the Copyright Act, particularly computer software. This is
due to a number of factors, essentially bordering on the obsolescence
and inability of the Act to meet contemporary challenges in the
protection of copyrights of particularly new genres of innovations
within the above broadly provided products. Also, though Nigeria is
signatory to various international conventions on copyright protection,
these conventions are hardly enforceable in Nigeria owing to the fact
that they have not been domesticated.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It is an indisputable fact that copyright is a monopoly of limited
duration, but unlike most monopoly, it is a legitimate monopoly
created by the law and enjoyed by the author of an original work.
However, digital technology in the varied forms known to us today was
not expressly contemplated for protection under the Nigerian Copyright
Act; most of the new digital innovations can be accommodated in some
form under the copyright Act if they approximately fall under any of
the intellectual property of individuals protected under the Copyright
Act. For instance, take satellite and cable broadcast and computer
software, how would certain digital products derived from these
innovative technologies relate to the protected categories under the
copyright Act. This necessitated this study on the copyright
infringement in Nigeria and challenges in a digital world.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The following are the objectives of this study:
- To examine the spate of copyright infringement in Nigeria.
- To identify the challenges of copyright infringement in a digital world.
- To determine how copyright infringement can be handled considering digital technology.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- What is the spate of copyright infringement in Nigeria?
- What are the challenges of copyright infringement in a digital world?
- How can copyright infringement be handled considering digital technology?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The following are the significance of this study:
- The outcome of this study will sensitize the government, the
law enforcement agents, authors of intellectual properties and the
general public on the spate of copyright infringement in Nigeria
considering the advent of digital technology with a view of finding a
lasting solution to the issues.
- This research will also serve as a resource base to other
scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in
this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide
new explanation to the topic.
1.7 SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study on the copyright infringement in Nigeria and challenges
in Digital world will cover issues of piracy and copyright violation
in Nigeria considering the challenges of digital technology which has
made piracy and copyright infringement difficult to tackle.
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to
impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant
materials, literature or information and in the process of data
collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This
consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
REFERENCES
Ajirere T. (2008). “The Anniversary of the Nigerian Copyright” available at URL://http://www.ndunigeriadailynews. com
Ayemi Ayo, (2010) “Why Legal Framework for Broadcasting Industry
may be Strengthened Now”, available at: URL:
http://www.allafrica.com/12009…html.
Ethan drone (1992). A Treatise on the Law of Property in Intellectual Productions, (2nd ed. London, Butterworths publishers, 1992), p.44
Wikipedia the free encyclopedia “Meaning of Copyright” [WWW
document], available at: URL: http://www.wikipedia.org.wiki-copyright
(visited 30th March, 2015).
Thomson Reuters, “Introduction of Copyright”, (created 2009), [WWW
document], available at: URL:
http://www.findlaw.com/copyright/8456/html.