THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA
THE LAW AND PRACTICE OF COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA
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Date
1997-06
Authors
PETER, AGBO OCHEME
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Abstract
Emerging as one of the branches of property law, Copyright is
founded upon the capitalist principle of private proprietary right exercisable
within and outside the limitations of political, economic and cultural
boundaries. It is one of the international intangible rights secured by law.
It subsists even while the owners are asleep and continues to be upheld
even when they have long been dead. In Nigeria, among many
jurisdictions of the world, the works which now attract protection under the
law of copyright are works of human minds and hands. Thus, our natural
endowments as found in either liquid or solid minerals, desirable as they
are, do not enjoy copyright.
But yet, copyright is a legal system designed to protect creations in
their material forms. This is why a distinction has to be drawn early
enough between form and substance. Mainly, in copyright, the Law
demarcates ideas from its field of application and seeks only to protect the
form through which these ideas are given structure and expression. On the
basis of that principle, copyright protects the idea from the moment it is
reduced to a tangible form. This distinction is one of the features of
copyright which often blindfolds many, nay Lawyers, from understanding
the concept. This is compounded by the theories of creator's benefits as
may be opposed to or be reconciled with that of the public interests among
which he is also a member.
In the Nigerian context, the scope of human activities enjoying
copyright and related neighbouring rights has widened. Almost every
imaginary efforts of man (nay woman) at making the world a better place -
be it In aural, sight, touch and smell - have attracted the force of law at
preservation, compensation and enforcement. Thus, works of art and
literature, music, broadcasting, film, etc, in their sanctity, and with their
various adaptations now enjoy legal protection. And, in some works, this
protection subsits well after their authors may have died. The Nigerian
legal jurisprudence in this area now appears to-be running ahead of
practical realities, not as a result of our uncreativity but due to our
ignorance and lethargy.
Following closely behind the heels of this works-categorization, we
also consider the elements occasioning infringement of copyright. They at
first appear highly monopolistic if not absolute in nature. However, going
down the legal lane, the law conversely created a variety of exceptions and
exemptions which together water-down the strict liability nature of
copyright. In fact, under the current Nigerian copyright legislation,
whatever has been assured the copyright owner soon appears to evaporate
through the basket-like instruments of copyright enforcement.
From a cursory study of copyright at the international scene, this
research discovered a seemingly inexhaustible rich well of topical issues.
The universal nature of works of human mind and their dissemination has
inevitably led to the conclusion of international conventions which allow
foreigners to benefit from the protection afforded to nationals of each
other's country. Also, by the working of these conventions, models of
uniform legislations and practices have been developed, which tend
towards the ideal of a world-set-of-rights. The goals of bringing together
the greater possible number of countries and binding them with such
protective charters have been achieved with varying degrees of success in
many countries. Nigeria seems to be an infant in this arena; albeit, our
Description
Department of Commercial Law
Faculty of Law
A.B.U. Zaria.
JUNE,
Keywords
LAW,, PRACTICE,, COPYRIGHT,, NIGERIA.