IS IT TRUE THAT THERE IS NO REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA?

IS IT TRUE THAT THERE IS NO REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA?

 

Believe it or not, copyright protection begins as soon as an original and eligible work is created and put in a tangible form.  Contrary to popular belief, there is absolutely no requirement for a work to be registered in order to enjoy copyright protection in Nigeria.  There is no Registrar or Registry of copyright anywhere in Nigeria and no formality is necessary by law. Anyone telling you that he is registering your copyright in Nigeria is engaged in some form of 419. I know that a large number of people will react to this position with disbelief.  Some may even ask, "how then do I prove that I own the copyright in my work?"

 

It is very true that copyright is intellectual property. By some recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the owner of copyright clearly enjoys the proprietary rights enshrined in Section 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, the owner of copyright is not like the owner of a piece of land who may require a C of O to establish the ownership of his land.

 

So, why then do people troop to organizations like the NCC or COSON to 'register' their works? To my mind, such activities are merely documentation of the works in the databases of these establishments for the purpose of administering the works and not registration and they do not confer any constitutional or legal rights to the owners of the works.

 

Indeed, registration of copyright is contrary to the provisions of the various international copyright conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory. An example is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary & Artistic Works administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which Nigeria joined on September 14, 1993. Article 5 (2) of the Berne Convention makes it clear that no formality is needed to ensure protection of copyright. In other words, no registration is required, no deposit is required and no notification is required. Protection is automatic.

 

In fact, registration of copyright is a dying practice. Across the world, only the United States of America still registers copyright and only for the purpose of bringing an action and not for protection. Elsewhere in the world, copyright registries have been dismantled and the registrars sent home.

 

If you do not give serious thought to the issue, you may consider the absence of any statutory registration procedure for copyright as a major defect of the Nigerian Copyright law. I wish to discuss some of the many reasons why it has been widely accepted across the globe that registration of copyright is not such a good idea.

 

Copyright does not just protect musical works, sound recordings, books, plays, movies, computer programs, photographs, broadcasts, etc. Copyright protects an almost endless list of creative works and works of artistic craftmanship such as paintings, drawings, etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, engravings, prints, maps, plans, diagrams, works of architecture, sculptural works, etc.

 

It may be clear to a paper presenter at a seminar or workshop that his work enjoys copyright protection but one is not sure whether the local pastor is aware that any unauthorized reproduction of his Sunday sermon is an infringement of his copyright and that he is entitled to sue, not just before God but in a court of law.

 

It may also appear odd but any unauthorized copying of a letter, report or memorandum, beyond what would be deemed as fair use, is indeed an infringement of copyright. Please note that your odd letter to your sweetheart is also protected by copyright.

 

The truth is that it is practically impossible to register even a tiny fraction of the works eligible for copyright.  Every day, without being conscious of it, we are all creating eligible works in our letters, reports, memos, lectures, addresses, sermons, scripts, etc. Should we be required to register all of these, we will have no time to do any other work.  Should the failure to register deny us the necessary protection? There are many who do not think so. To even attempt to register a fraction of the works eligible for copyright requires a bureaucracy, the size and cost of which is not meaningful to contemplate.

 

Just think of it: If registration is a condition for copyright protection, it then means that anyone who registers a work may claim copyright in the work even if he is not the creator of the work. Can you imagine the commotion that is likely to cause in a semi-literate society like ours with the enormous danger of fraudulent registrations which may in fact defeat the whole idea of copyright protection?

 

So, how do people establish the ownership of copyright in their works? Experience has shown that the quantum of disputes related to authorship, in decided copyright matters, is not so significant as to warrant the requirement for massive registration. Such disputes often are resolved using witnesses and other documentary evidence.  A cost/benefit analysis certainly cannot not justify registration.

 

Some may suggest that we register only the works we consider important. How do we know which works will ultimately be important? A lot of the works which overtime have acquired great economic or artistic value may never have been registered when they were created because little value may have been placed on them.  It means that as their true value became clear, they would have been denied copyright protection because of the failure to register them when they were made.

 

There are those who despite the foregoing explanation still do not feel comfortable about the lack of formal registration procedures.  Such persons can avail themselves of the age long practice of using the post office. The steps to take are as follows: -

 

Place a copy of the work requiring registration in an envelope.  Seal the envelope.  Address the envelope to yourself.  Register the package at the post office and post it.  Upon receipt of the package, do not open it.  If there is a dispute in future as to when the work was created, the sealed envelope which may be opened in court, may help establish evidence of the time of creation.

 

I hope that this piece has helped us to understand that things look very different when we give them deep thought.

 

The foregoing, in my series of copyright lectures in "Saturday Breakfast", is adapted from my book, "Copyright & the New Millionaires" A hard copy of the book can be obtained at TOPS LTD, 8 Tokunbo Alli St, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja. You may also call Edith on 0803 849 6110. I hope you found the piece informative.

 

See you next week.