WHAT KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU?

It was Monday, April 10, 2017 that I got a devastating phone call. My friend, my very good friend, Tony Grey, had passed on! On hearing the news, I screamed! My scream attracted the attention of everyone in my residence. I was left in great pain. My pain was not just in the fact that this incredibly committed artiste had died at close to 70, my pain was in the fact that I had let my good friend down.

Few weeks before he passed on, I had spoken several times with Tony Grey whose real name was Tony Leonge. He was on his sick bed in a hospital in Warri, the city where for many years he was the undisputed king of popular entertainment. Tony in a disappearing voice had asked for my help to raise money to beat the ailment that was holding him hostage. I promised to do what I could.

Tony Grey had the right to ask me for anything. Despite the fact that he was more than ten years older and had become quite famous long before anyone ever heard of me, Tony Grey always treated me like his buddy.

In fact, I first heard Tony Grey's big hits, 'She is my Love' and 'Ije Udo' while in High School in Enugu.  At that time, I used to break school rules to go and rehearse with a band called 'Life Everlasting' led by a great drummer, Stoneface Iwuagwu. Life Everlasting was based at Tourist Hotel on Zik Avenue. It had in its rank such committed musicians as Dallas Kingsley Anyanwu, Roy Obika, Jackie Moore Anyaorah, etc, who later became the backbone of Esbee Family and Sweet Breeze.  

With Life Everlasting and from Tourist Hotel, I did my first ever tour as a performing musician. All of us in the band and our instruments would be packed in a small Kombi bus and we would tour Onitsha, Asaba, Owerri, Aba and villages and hamlets in between. My first song ever on stage was a cover of Roberta Flack's 'Killing me Softly' We did a bit of Carlos Santana and also tried our hands on several Nigerian hit songs of the moment: Fela's 'Jeun Ku Oku', 'Love Rock' by the Strangers of Owerri, 'Fuel for Love' by Wrinkers Experience and of course, Tony Grey's 'She is my Love' and 'Ije Udo'.

At that time, I could not even dream of any contact with the likes of Fela, Tony Grey and EMI, their recording company. How would a young aspiring musician with bushy hair then called Alex Tony Okoroji in Enugu be thinking of being found in the same room with these big guys? Even if I thought of it, I could not say it loud to anyone. I would have been hushed and told that I was smoking something and living in a fool's paradise. They were too-too big!

In so many ways, my life has been a mystery. I actually came to Lagos, walked the streets of Lagos for many months, took every lesson I could in the 'University of Hard Knocks'. Somehow, after different projects in recording, I became friends with the great producer, Odion Iruoje and what followed was a long stint as a producer and Artiste & Repertoire Manager at the brand-new EMI studios in Oregun, Lagos.

It was at EMI that I met Tony Grey, the star that I had admired from afar. When Tony Grey was in town, everyone knew. He used to storm Lagos with two beautiful airconditioned Toyota Coaster buses branded 'Tony Grey's Ozimba'. Surprisingly he was very humble, always had this smile on his face and never had anything negative to say about anyone. I liked him and we became friends almost instantly.

When I became President of PMAN and arrows flew from left and right, Tony Grey was solidly in my corner. When I accepted the responsibility to build COSON into the institution that I believe the intellectual property community badly needs, Tony Grey was there. Anytime, we called a meeting, Tony Grey would abandon all in Warri and come to Lagos and always contributed positively.

When Tony Grey asked me for help from his hospital bed, he had every right to. In my attempt to follow due process and get it right, I wasted too much time. Of course, there is no guarantee that anything I did would have changed the eventual outcome but at least I would have done something for my friend.

On the phone, I promised Houston Grey, Tony's first son, that since I could not be with his father on his sick bed, I wished to be with the family as he was laid to rest.

I had made plans to leave for Warri the day before Tony's burial on a Friday. On Wednesday, I found out that I had a crazy fever. My body was on fire and my limbs were weak. I could not get away from home. I tried every self-medication known but the bad situation just got worse. Thursday morning, with a stuttering voice I called Dr. Jatto, my trusted doctor and told him there was an emergency and I was on my way to see him immediately.

I begged Dr. Jatto to do whatever he could and get me to travel on Friday to Warri to be with Tony Grey's family. Dr. Jatto quickly ran a battery of tests on me, shook his head and bluntly said that Warri was not possible. He said emphatically that he would place me on admission for at least three days. While I was arguing with him, I was injected with some stuff and I drifted into some state where I felt like two entities were pulling at me, the living and the dead. When I drifted out of sleep many hours later, the nurse smiled at me and said that while I was sleeping, they had pumped about ten different injections into me. My body was still hot and I was wired to some medical contraption.

I called for Dr. Jatto and begged him to at least let me go home at night, sleep on my bed and come back the next morning to continue with my treatment. He is a very good man, so, he agreed. I was driven home and could barely get out of the car. I was shivering badly. About 11.00 pm, I managed to compose a text message and sent to Tony Grey's son, Houston, the COSON Consultant in Edo/Delta States and several others who were supposed to co-ordinate the trip. The text read "Tried and tried, flight tickets already bought. Cannot make it. Spent the entire day on admission on a hospital bed. Will be represented" It was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. Not being there for Tony Grey in life was bad enough. To also not be with his family at his funeral was too much to bear.

I took each of the thirteen tablets Dr. Jatto packed for me and slept off. I woke up about 3.00 am Friday and could not go back to sleep. While I felt a little better, I was still very weak. I composed a new text message and sent to everyone I had sent a text to before I slept. The new text read "Your true friend is that one who stands by you when it is most inconvenient. Tony Grey was such a friend. I will be at the airport this morning on the way to Warri to be with his family as he is laid to rest. I appreciate everyone's concern but I have to do what I have to do" The new text set off a battery of telephone calls begging me to rethink.

I verily believe that your true friend is not that person who calls you only when he needs something from you. He is that person who is there for you when you are in need and it is most inconvenient. Yes, I was at the funeral of my friend, Tony Grey.

See you next week.

DO NOT FORGET, I DRIVE ON A FULL TANK OF FAITH

Several times in recent years, I have been asked how I am able to take the many AK 47s and torpedoes repeatedly fired at me. You may have heard that each time, I have replied that I drive on a full tank of faith. I verily believe that as long as you have faith, you can move mountains. You are unbeatable.

That might sound arrogant but it is not meant to be. I have come to the conclusion that if what you do is for the good of God's children and you believe in the power of the Almighty, many will be confounded as to what you achieve and how bullets fly past you without touching you.

For your tank to be full of faith, please make sure that you do not top up with hate, greed, jealousy, covetousness and their likes. When what moves you is the love of God's children, faith becomes not just a weapon but a shield.

It is my rule not to launch an attack on any innocent person. In fact, I will go out of my way to avoid a confrontation. It may be why I get attacked so often and get underestimated so often. It is only when I have tried my best to avoid an attack that I respond and respond forcefully. 

Many complain that I do not appear to worry about anything; my health, my safety; my finances or tomorrow. I just trudge on. As long as what I am doing is to the glory of the Almighty, I do it with joy and a smile. I do not worry. I drive on a full tank of faith. I verily do not believe that the Almighty will send me on an errand without ensuring that I have the means to get there.

Nobody can bring you down except yourself. If you do not have faith, you have already failed even before you have started. If you see the cup as half empty instead of half full, you have already failed. I know that no matter how bad the situation may appear, there is a way, there is an answer, there is a solution.

I believe that we spend far too much time staring at and worrying about our problems instead of looking at the solutions which most times are right in front of us. When you drive on a full tank of faith, you see solutions and not problems.

I have nothing against people who go to church regularly. I however do not believe that faith has anything to do with how many times you go to church. I have written here before that I was born a Catholic and remain a Catholic. My older sisters and Madam though complain ceaselessly that I do not go to church as regularly as I should. I just do not believe that God is only in the Catholic church. I believe that He is in every church and in fact in the Mosque, in the market, in our offices, on the streets and in our homes. Believe me, God is in bars and hotels too. He is everywhere.

I also honestly do not accept that there is one God for the Catholics, another for the Anglicans, a different one for the Pentecostals and a patently different God for my brothers and sisters of the Islamic faith. I do not accept that you will go to hell because you are not Catholic. I believe that the divisions that exist among us are man-made, more social, sometimes political and certainly not spiritual. Each time I look at the many problems, quarrels and wars across the world, I see the consequences of the divisions that man has created among the children of God.  These divisions result in suspicion, hate and ultimately, bloodshed and strife.

Sometimes, I believe that in Africa, we pray far too much. We pray like people who have no faith. We pray and pray and pray and do so little work. We pray like God is not hearing us. Then, we shout! While the rest of the world is working, we are praying. Thereafter, we pray to get a visa to go and live in the countries where things are working well because the people have been working while we prayed.

My take is that whatever I ask of the Almighty has already been given to me. I just move on to implementation and harvest.

Please, next time you wonder how a guy called Tony Okoroji can take the many AK 47s and torpedoes repeatedly fired at him, stop wondering. Just remember that I drive on a full tank of faith.

See you next week.

WHAT EXACTLY IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?

Intellectual Property has become a very important subject in global trade and a significant item in virtually every international trade negotiation process. Any nation which is considered not to be committed to the protection of Intellectual Property rights of others is sure to face significant consequences from the world's major trading nations. Because of the changing nature of wealth, a sizeable part of the Gross Domestic Product of most countries now has appreciable Intellectual Property content. No country which is serious about growing its economy and providing jobs for its citizens, can afford to ignore this sometimes, complex issue.

 

So, what is Intellectual Property? Intellectual Property may be defined as the proprietary rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. It must be clearly stated that these rights do not apply to the physical objects in which the creation may be embodied but to the intellectual creation itself. For example, Microsoft Inc. might own the intellectual property rights in a computer program but not own the CD which contains the program. Similarly, Chinua Achebe or his estate might own the intellectual property rights in "Things Fall Apart" but not own the paper on which the enchanting story is printed. Conversely, someone might be the owner of a video CD copy of an edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show but that does not make such a person the owner of the intellectual property rights in the show. In the same vein, Oprah Winfrey might claim the intellectual property rights in her show recorded on a video CD belonging to someone else.

 

The name, Coca-Cola must be one of the most famous names in the world. While there are thousands of variants of the cola drink, the one that comes by the name, Coca-Cola or simply, Coke has acquired a world-wide reputation for quality. That reputation is an asset that produces enormous wealth. Imagine if everyone was free to put the name, Coca-Cola or Coke on his product. How are we to distinguish the unique product of the Coca-Cola Company from the concoction made by a fly-by-night beverage maker in Ijebu Ode? What if everyone was free to sell his product in a bottle similar to the unique Coca-Cola bottle? There will be absolute confusion in the marketplace and commerce, the way we know it, will be impossible. The names, Coca-Cola and Coke and the peculiar Coca-Cola bottle are trademarks of the Coca-Cola Company.

 

A trademark distinguishes the goods of one producer from those of another. The law protects trademarks as intellectual property because a trademark can be "stolen" without the owner losing any tangible asset. The Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd uses the names, Coca-Cola and Coke and the uniquely shaped bottle. Such use however is authorized. Major organizations guard their trademarks jealously and any unauthorized use of a trademark might result in a massive lawsuit.                         

                

My brother and friend, an irrepressible Nigerian entrepreneur by the name, Leo Stan Eke, has been working assiduously to make the name, Zinox; synonymous with quality computers in Nigeria and beyond. Mr. Eke is expending incredible time and energy building a brand name. That brand name is a trademark, a valuable property and there is no question that anyone who attempts to exploit that property without authorization will "see fire". Another person that is quietly creating a brand name that is winning admiration is Mr. Cosmas Maduka. Mr. Maduka's Coscharis is fast becoming a symbol of quality for the different products associated with the name. An appropriate review might reveal that the name, Coscharis today has more real value than the company's fabulous corporate Headquarters building on Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. 

                                             

The Mercedes Benz brand name and its three-star symbol have long been associated with luxury and dependability in the global automobile industry. In consumer electronics, Sony has almost become another word for trust. It is in the same way that the average Nigerian housewife is in love with names like Bournvita, Milo, Maggi,  Omo, Indomie, Uncle Ben's, De Rica, Peak, etc. These names have been established in her mind as representing good quality. Even when the products bearing the names are more expensive than others, the Nigerian housewife will buy these brands. These names are worth millions to their owners and the law protects them as intellectual property. Some of the names have also cost millions to establish. Anyone who still doubts the value of a trademark, only needs to look at the billions of naira each of the mobile telephone service providers in Nigeria is spending on advertising and promotions to make sure that anytime a Nigerian thinks of making a telephone call or buying internet data, he thinks GLO, MTN, AIRTEL or 9 MOBILE.

 

Intellectual Property covers a wide area of creative rights. It is considered so important that the United Nations had to establish a specialized agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to deal with intellectual property issues. From the treaty establishing WIPO, which was concluded in Stockholm Sweden on July 14, 1967, it can be said that intellectual property includes rights relating to Literary, artistic, scientific works, broadcasts, phonograms and the performances of performing artistes all of which belong to the branch known as Copyright and Neighbouring rights.

 

Intellectual Property Rights also cover inventions in all fields of human endeavor, scientific discoveries, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks, commercial names, designations and protection against unfair competition all of which are located in the industrial property branch of Intellectual Property.

 

Probably because the list of the rights that may be protected as intellectual property is indefinite, the specific article of the Stockholm Treaty which attempts to list those activities that produce intellectual property includes "all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields".

 

From the above, it can be seen that Intellectual Property rights may be broadly divided into Copyright and Neighbouring rights which rights are protected in Nigeria by the Copyright Act and Industrial Property rights protected in Nigeria by the Patents & Designs Act and the Trademarks Act.

 

With the expanding scope of   Intellectual Property rights however, it is obvious that new laws are required in Nigeria to deal with the protection of emerging rights such as Geographical Indications, Undisclosed Information, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits, Plant Varieties, Animal Breeders and Farmers' rights, etc.

 

The bottom line is that with the changing nature of wealth, the true wealth of our country is no longer in the oil buried underground but in the creative genius in the heads of our people.

The foregoing, in my series of 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.

 

 

 

 

HATRED IS A VIRUS

Do you know that hatred is a virus, the worst virus there is? Hatred permeates your body's engine and weakens the crankshaft. The piston and rings become loose and when you fire your engine, rather than get swift movement, what you end up with is smoke, lots of smoke! You wonder why your engine oil disappears so fast. Hatred drains you of happiness and rational thinking. Each time I see those who attack me with falsehood and hatred, they don't look so good. They appear gaunt and spent and they all seem to be ageing fast. Hatred is wearing them out.

I have spent much of my life wrestling with man's hatred. I have little material wealth but OMG, I have faith and I am H A P P Y! I appreciate the grace that the Almighty has given me to work hard, focus on my challenges and achieve results that please Him. I walk with my head held high and love the gifts He has given me.

I have heard some people say that I am arrogant… Arrogant ke? No sir! What they call arrogance is confidence. If you believe in God, you glow in His glory. I am not so stupid that I do not understand that whatever wisdom and strength I may deploy do not belong to me but to the Almighty. If you think that I am arrogant, please bury the thought. I simply glow in the glory of God.

I have said before that I do not want to be Dangote or Otedola or Ronaldo or Donald Trump. I do not need to be a governor or a minister. I am Tony Okoroji and boy, I like it!

I know that the good Lord has given to each of His children our peculiar gifts. The problem is that rather than harness our gifts, some people are very busy with envy and covetousness and fixated on the gifts of others. Somebody should tell them that I do not want to be them, can never be them and no matter how much they try, they cannot be me.

When I say that I drive on a full tank of faith, I mean that I have full confidence that if what I am doing is to the glory of God and the good of his children, I cannot fail. As my tank is filled with faith, so are my tires filled with love and no obstacle or bump can stop me.

 In their hearts, those who have gone after me know that I have done nothing against them and taken nothing that belongs to them. They are just driven by hate and so cannot think or act rationally. I was recently told by someone I used to respect that there are people who hate me because I am always winning. He actually advised that I should lose sometimes so that my 'adversaries' can be happy! In other words, I should be a failure so that some people can celebrate! People who do not work anywhere as hard as I do want recognition for what they have not done. See me, see trouble.

Everyone who knows me will tell you that I work 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. I never stop working and I don't complain about work. Life is work. Work is fun. In everything I do, I seek perfection. I have repeatedly asked the good Lord to use me to do good to as many people as possible. Every day I wake up, it is my duty to put a smile on the face of someone.

Do you know that nearly everyone who ferociously attacks me is someone I have given my love to? They take and take and at some point, conclude that I have become their 'mugu,' available to give everything they want. Then, they make a demand that I cannot give. Come and see wahala oh! They are shocked that their 'mugu' can say no to them sometimes. After all, I am supposed to be there for their use. Suddenly, friendship turns to hatred. From being an exceptionally good person, I have become a very bad man, selfish, cunning and even a criminal! That is how the hate swells and the desire to destroy ferments.

Please, let them go with their hate. I do not want to be part of it. I do not want to dwell in it. Hate belongs to the devil. I deal with love and I am happy with it. I know that the Almighty will never let me be successful in destroying anyone who has done nothing against me.

I have witnessed some people concoct so much lies, repeatedly tell their lies until they even begin to believe their lies. They continue to run from pillar to post and ask themselves why their lies have been so ineffective. They get frustrated that they do not achieve what they desire. The answer is simple: love conquers hate.

I do hope that all of us will learn that man is not God and God does not dwell in hate. If you kneel down and pray that you succeed with your hate, you have not prayed to God but to the devil. You will simply continue to be eaten up by the virus called hate.

Try pumping your tires with love and drive on a full tank of faith. I promise that you will never be stranded along the way. God is love!

 

See you next week

Ps: Tomorrow is September 1. For ten years, we have celebrated September 1 as "No Music Day" in Nigeria, a day we dwell on the massive abuse of the Intellectual property of creative people and investors in our music industry. Let's spare some thought for these our fellow countrymen tomorrow. Let the music pay!

THEY HAVE TRIED AND TRIED BUT COSON IS WORKING!

THEY HAVE TRIED AND TRIED BUT COSON IS WORKING!

Believe me, soon, the chickens will come home to roost. The conspirators who planned the failed coup to hijack COSON will pay a price, one by one. Several times I have seen Karma work. It is set to work again!

The nature of their conspiracy will also become public knowledge. What has already become very clear is that nothing they have done has been to help the members of COSON. It was all self-centered: greed of the worst kind. They wanted to conscript a system built as a legacy for every creative person in Nigeria, pocket it and use it to further enrich themselves. They knew that they can never get the members of COSON across the country to give them what they want. They had to arm twist a government agency, set up to uplift the stakeholders in the creative industry, to become a key partner in their perfidy. And all along, they have  pretended to be democrats!

The intellectual mastermind of this group is an old man who has become a habitual troublemaker. Before the battle to hijack COSON became public, I had written about him in this column. Just yesterday, I received two new court processes, both with his imprimatur. Reading through them, I did not know whether to laugh or to cry. Neither has rhyme nor reason. Each suggests that he has become terribly desperate. I can understand. Each and every scheme he has conjured to destroy COSON has failed. He is now running from pillar to post. I am not sure that he sleeps at night. At the end of the day, he may wish to run but he cannot hide. Eventually, everyone pays for the evil he does.

My guy, a habitual petition writer, has bullied some respected people in our industry to append their names to his petitions and court cases without letting them know what is eating him up.

I have done a careful assessment of our guy who knows how best to manage COSON. He is over 70 years old and I do not see what exceptional thing he has done all these years except that he is a prolific writer of petitions and position papers. With his skills, I am not aware of any book or even a pamphlet authored by him. He presents himself as an expert at building institutions but every institution he has been given to build is either dead or on death row. I know my guy very well. His kind populate our country - very good at talking but can't get anything done.

A few years ago, my guy contested elections to be on the Board of COSON. The members did not vote for him. He however thinks that he is so incredibly gifted that it ought to be clear to everyone. In his mind, the decision of the members not to vote for him was not their choice. According to him, he is not on the board because I manipulated the elections which I did not organize. My guy who says that he is a democrat does not seem to understand that democracy requires some humility.

My guy does not understand that in a democracy, you must respect the right of the people to choose a fool over the smartest guy in the room. I am not sure that there is any sane person who cannot see that Hilary Clinton is a smarter person than Donald Trump who cannot restrain himself from tweeting and retweeting bizarre stuff every day. Yet, today, Donald J. Trump resides in the White House and Hilary Clinton lives in Upstate New York. She has no choice but to accept the facts. In Nigeria, there are many who believe that Goodluck Jonathan and Atiku Abubakar would have made better presidents than Muhammadu Buhari. Like it or not, Muhammadu Buhari sleeps and wakes up at Aso Rock Villa.

A few years ago, almost no one in Nigeria gave COSON a chance. While my guy was busy writing his petitions, the beautiful COSON House was built without any kobo from the public purse. While this old man was on his computer keyboard composing one petition after another, COSON gave employment to some very brilliant and very well-trained Nigerians and for years has paid their salaries and allowances as at when due. While my guy has been crafting his petitions, COSON has distributed several millions of Naira to members across Nigeria every year. The organization he has so much spite for has executed reciprocal representation agreements covering over 150 collective management organizations in every corner of the globe. Its accounts are audited and filed as when due. Every two years, COSON organizes the amazing COSON Week, the last: eight back to back events organized over eight days in eight different and scintillating venues: some of the best organized events in Nigerian history. Despite my guy's unending petitions, on all indices of growth, COSON has been a very successful Nigerian story.

I was once President of PMAN, the musicians' union. PMAN was a most respected Nigerian institution. We were celebrated. People like my guy started their petition writing and agitation. I left PMAN for them. Everyone can see what has become of our once great PMAN.

Oh yes, they have done everything to infiltrate the COSON Board and have failed. We argue very vigorously on the COSON Board but we do not throw chairs. Because we do not throw chairs, my guy says that the COSON Board is a rubber stamp Board. Of course, If we were fighting ourselves on the streets, my guy would say, "Can't everyone see that they are unstable? Kick them out!'

COSON has become very attractive. Suddenly, all the people who were too busy to give tolerable time to COSON know how to run COSON better and they can't wait to chase us out.

COSON was started in a two bedroom flat. At some point, I spent 60 days and nights at the COSON office, only going home periodically to pick up a change of clothes. My bed was the office floor. I was writing legal documents, press releases, accounting documents, organizational charts, etc. Many times, I worked 20 hours in a stretch. Without the compliment of staff that COSON now has, that was how the building blocks were laid. The blocks were held together by incredible self-denial and iron clad belief that tomorrow can be better than yesterday. I have been attacked left, right and center and have lost count how many times I have gone to court to defend my name and to defend the COSON legacy. They have told tales of fabulous property owned by me. They cannot give you one address because such property exists only in their warped minds. 

I am human and not indispensable. I however understand the COSON vision, its very foundation and how the building blocks have been laid. I know the unique strengths and weaknesses of the organization. There is no question that there are people who dream of taking over COSON not because they want to defend the interest of the members but because they think that COSON has money that they can get their hands on. They neither have the knowledge nor the training to deal with the very complex subject of collective management of copyright. They lack the liver to take on the many enemies who are determined to thwart the system. They do not possess the skills to manage the many contending interests but they are very hungry for control. In less than six months, they will destroy this wonderful organization we have carefully built and turn it into another PMAN.

I have decided that I will not be bullied out. They can write as many petitions as they want, file as many court cases as they want and conspire ceaselessly as they want, I will not be bullied out. As long as the members of COSON genuinely want me to protect their legacy, I will be there to protect what belongs to them. Let the petition writers continue to write their petitions. What they may not know is that Karma is on the way.

See you next week.

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.

TO ENJOY COPYRIGHT, A WORK MUST BE ORIGINAL

 

For a literary, musical or artistic work to enjoy copyright protection in Nigeria, it must have an original character. In other words, some effort in the sense of independent skill, industry, experience or judgement must have been expended in producing the work.

 

The question may then be asked; since the Abami Eda, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is widely reputed to have originated Afro Beat music, is it an infringement of Fela's copyright for Dede Mabiaku or Alariwo or even Femi to perform Afro Beat? Certainly not! It has become generally accepted that a person may create a new work in the same general form as an already existing work and there will be no infringement of copyright "provided he does so from his own resources and makes the work he so originates a work of his own, by his own labour and industry bestowed upon it".

 

From the above, if Lagbaja was to perform or make a new recording of Fela's mega hit tune, "Shakara" without authorization or compliance with the formalities required by law, he may be held for infringement of copyright as would be the case if he did not obtain necessary permission for recording his own version of Chris Ajilo's "Eko Gbagbere". However, the fact that some people consider "Coolu Temper" to be Afro Beat does not make Lagbaja a copyright infringer. While "Coolu Temper" and "Shakara" may belong to a similar musical genre, each of these beautiful pieces of music has been created with independent skill. Taking it further, we all can play our own version of reggae music all we want, but if we reproduce Bob Marley's "No Woman no Cry" without authorization or following the formalities prescribed by law, katakata may blow!

 

Following the ground-breaking success of the home video movie, "Living in Bondage" by Ken Nnebue's Nek Video, which many claim to have given birth to what we today know as Nollywood, many similar home video movies emerged in the Nigerian market in quick succession clearly to exploit the success of "Living in Bondage".  While some of these videos may be poor imitations of "Living in Bondage", no infringement of copyright may have occurred as long as they posses substantially independent story lines.

 

In determining originality, emphasis should be on the novelty or newness of the expression itself and not the novelty of the form of expression.  While the form of expression may be new, it need not be.  Applying this principle to our previous discussion, Afro Beat music is a form of expression while Shakara and Coolu Temper are different expressions using the Afro Beat form.  The copying of Afro Beat is not an infringement of copyright but the copying of Shakara is an infringement.

 

Originality with respect to copyright does not suggest that a similar work has not been created.  It means that the expression has not been copied.  A similar position was taken by Lord Reid with respect to literary works in University of London Press Ltd. v. University Tutorial Press Ltd.  Likewise, in the words of Justice Patterson in Ladbroke Ltd. v. William Hill Ltd, "the originality which is required relates to the expression of the thought.  But the Act does not require that the expression must be in an original or novel form but that the work must not be copied from another work – that it should originate from the author".

 

The world-wide success of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart⁶ has inspired many African writers to write in Achebe's form.  None of these novels may correctly be said to have infringed Achebe's copyright.

 

What then is the exact amount of effort which the author must make to give a work an original character? The labour, knowledge, judgement, skill, etc. which a creator may bestow upon a work to give it an original character cannot be defined in precise terms.  In every case, it must be determined with regards to the special circumstances of the case. 

 

It may also need stating that despite the fact that copyright in another work may have been infringed in the making of a new work, the new work will still be eligible for copyright as long as it is substantially not a copy of the other work⁷.

 

In the area of patents, once a work enjoys patent protection, no similar or identical work can enjoy the benefits of patent rights.  In the field of copyright however, it is indeed possible to have a similar or identical work being protected by copyright as long as both works were independently produced and any similarity is simply coincidental.

 

The English judge, Justice Sargant stated this clearly in Corelli v. Gray when he said "no absolute monopoly is given to authors analogous to that conferred on inventors of patents.  That is to say, if it could be shown as a matter of fact that two precisely similar works were in fact produced wholly independently of one another, I do not think that the author of the work that was published first would be entitled to restrain the publication by the other author of that author's independent and original work".

 

Just remember that for a literary, musical or artistic work to enjoy copyright protection in Nigeria, some effort in the sense of independent skill, industry, experience or judgement must have been expended in producing the work. In other words, the work must be original.

 

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.

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⁷

THERE IS NO COPYRIGHT IN IDEAS

For any literary or artistic work to be eligible for copyright, the work must be fixed in a definite medium of expression now known or later to be developed, from which it can be perceived reproduced or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of any machine or device.

 

As was graphically illustrated in the story of Emeka and Chike told in Saturday Breakfast of June 15, 2019, copyright does not protect ideas.  For any work to enjoy copyright protection, the ideas must have been put into a tangible form.  In other words, the work must be on paper, tape, disc, film, etc. As far back as 1938, in an old English case of Donoghue v. Allied Newspapers Ltd, Judge Farewell said, "this, at any rate, is clear beyond all questions that there is no copyright in an idea or in ideas".

 

In a much earlier case of Hollingrake v. Truswell, Lord Justice Lindley said, "copyright, however, does not extend to ideas, or schemes, or systems, or methods; it is confined to their expression; and if their expression is not copied, the copyright is not infringed.

 

Why is it necessary for an idea to be fixed before it is eligible for copyright protection?  Put differently, what will be the consequence if ideas were granted copyright protection?  It seems clear that it will result to something close to legal anarchy because anyone will be free to lay claim to any ideas that meets his fancy and demand legal rights to such ideas.  In what practical way can such a claim be disputed? If an idea is not required to be put in a tangible form, how can anyone say with certainty that the idea for the mega hit, Sweet Mother did not originate from this author instead of the late Prince Nico Mbarga? 

 

Judge Farewell in Donoghue v. Allied Newspapers Ltd³, said that in order to obtain protection, an idea must be expressed in a definite medium because it ensures certainty in the subject matter and avoids injustice to the rest of the world.

 

Furthermore, it goes without saying that Equity does not protect the indolent.  Anyone who wishes to enjoy some legal rights should be prepared to take some practical steps to enjoy such rights.  Having an 'idea' is not enough to enjoy copyright protection, practical steps must be taken to write down, record or fix such an idea in a definite medium of expression.

 

In the case of Tate vs. Thomas, one Peterman conceived the idea for a play, "The Lads of the Village" and asked the three plaintiffs to compose the music and write the lyrics and dialogue. This they did to the satisfaction of Peterman who paid for the services of the plaintiffs. In an action for infringement, the defendant, Thomas claimed to have acquired the film rights from Peterman. Justice Eve however held that Peterman was neither the author nor a co-author of "The Lads of the Village" and had no copyright to assign. He only had an idea! The arrangement with the plaintiff only gave him the right to produce the play on stage as long as he made the agreed payments to the joint author.

 

Similarly, in 1983, this author produced the recording of a popular song in Nigeria titled "Baby Kilode?" performed by a young Nigerian singer, Dizzy K. Falola. Not long after the release of the record which received critical acclaim, another well- known Nigerian artiste, the late great Harry Mosco claimed that he had asked Dizzy K. Falola to write a song with the title, "Kilode" for him.  In other words, he claimed that he had conceived the idea for Baby Kilode? and that his rights had been infringed. For weeks, there was sustained controversy over this development which almost torpedoed the success of the song as Dizzy K. Falola claimed that he had not infringed Harry Mosco's copyright as the copyright in "Baby Kilode" belonged to him. The controversy began to die down only when knowledgeable people in the music industry intervened and explained to Harry Mosco the legal maxim, there is no copyright in ideas.

 

Please tell anyone who cares to know, there is no copyright in ideas.

 

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.

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SHOULD I STEAL TO MAKE MY FRIENDS HAPPY?

If my cell phone rings ten times, you can be sure that seven times, the guy on the other side has a problem waiting for me to solve. I don't get fooled anymore if he spends quite some time asking about the wife and the children and work and weather and the economy.

Patience… he will get to it. You are the only one who can save the situation. His landlord is on his case and he needs money urgently to settle the very troublesome landlord or to pack to a new place. The children are at home because of 'ordinary' eighty thousand naira to pay their school fees. The wife is in hospital and if you do not intervene, she might die there! There is not even one cup of garri at home and he does not know what to do.

Believe me, the situation in the land is that serious. The guy on the on the other end does not have to be your brother, cousin, old friend or former classmate. You probably never heard of him but it does not matter. Somehow, he has your number. What do you do? Tell him to go to hell and switch off? Let him know that you are struggling too? Of course, he will not give up and will tell you "I am sending you my account number. Just do something". After all, like a friend of mine would say, "half bread is better than groundnut" or better put in the famous words of my guy, Segun Arinze, 'at all… at all, na him bad!"  If after trying, his hook does not catch immediate fish, then he would ask you, 'when do I hear from you?'. Guy, you have just acquired a new customer.          

I do not want to make light of the difficult situation people in the land are facing. Times are tough and there are many with genuine problems that we should address if we have the means. There are also many who have graduated with honours from the University of Begging. From Monday to Sunday, they are on the phone with a list of numbers telling their tales of woe.

If you have a job that once in a while puts your face in a newspaper or on television, you are in trouble. The assumption is that you have a big carton of money around you to dispense and each time you do not give, you are being tight fisted or like some young ladies will say, 'the man na Aradite, in fact, na Super Glue!". You want to blame my people? When they see the billions and zillions that public officers in our land steal and get away with, there is this huge assumption that everyone in Nigeria that has been associated with some kind of leadership has some money in a soak-away pit.

I know some of my kinsmen who loath me because I have not erected a glittering mansion in Lagos. In their thinking, 'he should have a house worthy of the positions he has held'. I understand them. In our world, the achievement of a man is measured by the size of his house and the money he donates in public and not by his intellect, character or his contribution to the development of mankind.

Yes, I once served on a Federal Government Board. My allowance was the tidy sum of fifteen thousand naira. Please, how many times would I multiply fifteen thousand naira and build a mansion with it? In my other situations, I have been an advocate, mostly unpaid. I once had to say that I spend eighty percent of my time working for free and twenty percent, working to earn a living. But in Nigeria, it does not matter. Everyone believes that once you hold a position of leadership, you have a duty to conjure something under the table and you are expected to distribute the loot to your friends and kinsmen. That is how they get their share of the national cake. In our land, the dominant position is that you are an imbecile if you hold public office and you do not loot.

My biggest problem over the years has repeatedly been with close friends who verily believe that I must be cooking 'something' and I am just being smart in keeping it away from them. Because of the prevailing culture, it is difficult for many to believe that there are citizens of Nigeria who do not steal.

I have told this tale before of how I had been invited to the EFCC office in Lagos while Ribadu was Chairman, to respond to some crazy allegations made about my tenure as President of PMAN. The EFCC had just been set up. I met some very bright officers at the EFCC. My impression before then of law enforcement in Nigeria was garagara, crudity and brute force. I was really impressed by the professionalism and thoroughness with which the gentlemen at the EFCC went about their work.

The people who reported me to the EFCC were people I had once considered to be my friends. They thought I was 'chopping alone' and swore to deal with me. The officers at EFCC left no stone unturned in search of the truth. They went back ten years to obtain PMAN cash books, records of PMAN accounts in different banks, information filed by PMAN with the Registrar of Trade Unions under my tenure, etc.

In the final days of their investigation, the EFCC officials brought me and my accusers into one room with accountants, auditors, bank officials and former PMAN executives and for an entire day went line by line through practically every financial transaction during my tenure. Nothing escaped their attention. At the end of the day, no one could show how I stole one Naira from PMAN and the EFCC officers shook my hand and asked me to go. While my accusers drove away in a fleet of choice SUVs, I left the EFCC in my only car of the time, a Tokunbo Mercedes Benz 190 which had only three of the four cylinders working. I was tired but proud that not one word I spoke could be impeached.  Today, once again, I go through a similar experience.

I feel sorry for our country men who try to make sense of the horror film called Nigeria. While Nigerians shout about corruption, they don't mind corruption as long as they are the beneficiaries. They don't care how much anyone steals as long as they can get part of the loot. Believe me, there are people waiting right now to show Buhari's yet to be appointed ministers how to steal money from government so that they can benefit.

Please, should I steal to make my friends happy?

See you next week.

AND SANWO OLU SCORES A GOAL!

 

Do we need to make a law compelling anyone elected to any office in Nigeria to name his cabinet within two weeks of being sworn in? I had thought that if you were seeking to be elected to some office, you would have identified most of the people you intend to work with to deliver the promises you are making.

 

Across the nation, the appointment of ministers and commissioners seems to have become rocket science, a very big deal! The president can't name his ministers, the governors can't name their commissioners and the nation is in suspended animation or if you prefer, in limbo. I am not sure that anyone is calculating the huge price that Nigeria is paying because not much is getting done. The horse trading, consultations and considerations required to pick a few good men to head our government departments appear to be beyond the capabilities of the men we have elected.

 

That is understandable because of the winner takes all kind of politics we practice. Holding office in our land is not considered to be about service. It is the password to unimaginable riches and comfort. Our politicians believe that if you do not have a pipe to government allocation, you are in very big trouble. You are indeed a dead man walking. So, everybody is involved in the intense haggling for who controls which ministry. If your guy becomes minister in an area of interest to you, you are made. If on the other hand, your adversary makes it to the ministry you depend on for your bread and butter, hunger and possibly death will be staring you in the face. So, you think you are smart and became governor due to your skills? Woe betide you if you do not take care of your political godfathers. Ask Akinwunmi Ambode what happened to him.

 

Last week, in this column, I cried over the agony a lot of us living in Lagos have had to go through in recent weeks because no one appears to be dealing with the mad traffic situation in Lagos. Lagos, like many states, has no commissioners. In the last several weeks what we have seen in Lagos is not the infamous traffic jam. It has been anarchy. It has been mayhem.

 

Last week, I gave a specific example of what I personally have had to undergo. And I wrote, "I live in the part of Lagos that to get to work in Ikeja, I have to pass through a place called 'First Bridge' along the Lagos – Abeokuta Express way. Two months ago, the journey between 'First Bridge' and the ramp by the domestic airport in Ikeja took an average of ten minutes.

 

"Every day now, it takes anywhere between two hours and three hours to get from
First Bridge to the airport. That is about the time it should take you to travel from Lagos to Benin City! After the stress, the pollution, the breakdowns, the cursing and the quarrelling, you are of no use to anyone, not yourself, not your job and most certainly, not the economy. If you have a flight to catch, you will be watching the plane in the air from the window of your car. If you have a meeting, better do it on the phone.

 

"To get back home, I have to do the U turn between the Airport Bus Stop and PWD. What happens at that U Turn every evening is absolute commotion. No one and no system is in charge. Your patience is tested beyond breaking point and if you survive it without your car being bashed up, you wriggle to Ikeja "Along" where you see a sea of Nigerians in peace time trekking to get to where ever, some with heavy loads on their heads. Believe me, it is like a scene from a theatre of war. This is happening every day. To be candid, I am frightened to leave home these days".

I woke up yesterday wondering what to do. Two days before, I had called the great Arts journalist, Shaibu Husseini to thank him for the tireless personal sacrifice he had made to celebrate Eddie Ugbomah, Nigeria's frontline film maker, while he was ill and since his passing on. I had assured Shaibu that I would attend Eddie's funeral service at the National Theatre yesterday. Eddie was good to me. I attend funeral events of people in the Arts because I believe that the way we honour people in death can inspire our young people to seek greatness. Did you see the funeral ceremony of Michael Jackson, Muhammed Ali or Aretha Franklin? That is why I was involved in the organization of the iconic funeral ceremonies of late Christy Essien Igbokwe and Ras Kimono.

 

So, how do I get to the National Theatre without a helicopter? I set out saying to myself that if I do not get there before the end of the event, I would at least console myself that I tried. To worsen matters, it had rained the night before and there was sure to be flood water at 'Along'.

 

Lo and behold, the journey from 'First Bridge' to the airport ramp which last week was taking between 2 and 3 hours every day took all of 8 minutes! I had to close my eyes and open them to be sure that I was not dreaming. Someone had performed a miracle! There was no flood water and the potholes at 'Ikeja Along' had been patched. Suddenly, I had time on my hands and decided to first go to the office, treat some documents before going on to the National Theatre.

 

Just think of the little effort it took to relieve the burden off the thousands who had been suffering on that road. Some of my friends who read Saturday Breakfast last week called on the phone in fear that I may have stepped on big toes. They were not sure that I was not asking for trouble from Governor Babjide Sanwo Olu. I wrote last Saturday's piece because I love my country and I want Governor Sanwo Olu to succeed. I verily believe that the true object of leadership is to reduce the burden of the led. Those of us, the led, must help our leaders to reduce our burden.

 

Did my piece last week awaken someone to perform the miracle at "Ikeja Along"? I do not know. What I know is that by doing what they did, Governor Sanwo Olu and his team scored a goal for the people who elected him. It was in the same week that one young man called Samuel Chukwueze scored that unforgettable goal for the Nigerian nation that warned South Africa not to mess with Nigeria.

 

By the way, on my way home, it was a smooth drive all the way. The commotion at 'U – Turn' between the airport and PWD had completely disappeared. Abey, my young driver, just cruised on.  Thank you Babajide Sanwo Olu.

 

See you next week.