The Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte (MCSN) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the new Copyright Act 2022, which was recently signed by him as a parting gift to the creative industry.
In a letter dated April 19, and signed by the society’s chief executive, Mr. Mayo Ayilaran, it thanked the outgoing President for deeming it fit to give to the creative industry a parting gift in the form of a new copyright law.
“We have received with joy and heart filled with gratitude the new Copyright Act 2022, which you recently signed for the creative industry in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We most sincerely thank you for this parting gift.”
The society also thanked the President for the great impact of his administration on the creative sector in the last seven years during which hard decisions were taken, all of which have repositioned creative industries to be coming up as a virile economic sector in Nigeria.
“Nigerian music, movies, literally works and artworks among others, are now ranked among the best across the world and yielding multimillion dollars for our creators,” Ayilaran said.
He stated, “your administration has enabled the emergence of a viable and sustainable structures upon which our creators can rely on to reap the benefits and dividends from their intellectual labour. Our organisation, the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte (MCSN), is one of such structures licensed and approved as a collecting society/collective management organisation and which has within the last two years distributed various sums of money of over N 400 million to music creators in Nigeria and around the world for which many of our creators are able to solve certain of their basic problems. MCSN represents the copyright interests of most Nigerian musicians vis-à-vis those of our international foreign affiliates in Nigeria.”
Ayilaran informed the President that as he is rounding off his tour of duty in the service of his country, Nigeria, MCSN considers it very necessary to lend, “our voice in letting the world know how you have positively impacted the copyright space and you would be forever remain in our good and fond memories.”
The National Assembly passed the Bill for an Act to Repeal the Copyright Act, Cap C28 LFN, 2004 and Enact a New Copyright Act 2022. This was a sequel to the passage of the Bill by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in concurrence with the Senate, which had earlier on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, passed it.
The passage of the Bill by the Green Chamber followed a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole, consequent upon which the House had the third reading and passed it. The new bill provides for the effective regulation, protection and administration of copyright in the digital environment in line with global best practices.
The four cardinal objectives of the bill, as outlined in clause 1, include, (a) strengthening the copyright regime in Nigeria to enhance the competitiveness of its creative industries in a digital and knowledge-based global economy; (b) effectively protecting the rights of authors to ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts while also providing appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works; encourage cultural interchange and advance public welfare; (c) facilitate Nigeria’s compliance with obligations arising from relevant international copyright treaties, and (d) enhance the capacity of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for effective administration and enforcement of the provisions of the Copyright Act.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Nasiru Ila, made this known in a statement. The statement read in part, “The new Copyright Act, has again demonstrated the commitment of this administration to re-energising Nigeria’s creative economy and making it more globally competitive in the digital age.
“The principal objectives of the new law, as outlined in section 1 are to: protect the rights of authors and ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts; provide appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works; facilitate Nigeria’s compliance with obligations arising from relevant international copyright treaties and conventions; and enhance the capacity of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for effective regulation, administration, and enforcement.”
MEANWHILE, the Director-General of the Commission, Dr. John O. Asein, described the emergence of the New Copyright Bill as a catalyst for revamping Nigeria’s creative economy.
He noted that the passage of the Bill was a watershed in the development of copyright law in Nigeria, describing it as the first successful legislative intervention in the field of intellectual property under a democratic regime.
Asein expressed appreciation to the leadership of the National Assembly and the distinguished legislators for the commitment demonstrated throughout the legislative process to complement the efforts of the government to overhaul the copyright system. He also thanked stakeholders in the copyright industries for their resilience and support for the reform process.
