1. Introduction

Further to your discussion with Andi Daze regarding the proposed protection of your intellectual property rights in your book in Nigeria and other countries around the world, please find an outline of what will be required.

2. Intellectual Property Rights Protection – Literary works

Generally speaking an author is presumed to have copyrights over his works as soon as such work is in expressed in a fixed form (egg a book). The Berne Convention (1886) is an international treaty signed by member states which provides copyright protection across member states. Over time however some countries have nationalized their copyrights laws such that to enjoy protection in those countries an author will be required to register in that country protect their copyrights.

The Copyrights Act Chapter C28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 regulates the registration and ownership of copyrights in Nigeria, while Nigerian Copyright Commission is the regulatory body for registration and ownership of copyrights.   A copyright certificate grants exclusive rights to the owner to control, reproduction, performance or any kind of commercial exploitation.

• Signatories to Berne Convention

The treaty states that if copyright exists in one of its member countries, then this copyright is valid in all member countries, who are signatories of the Berne Convention. At present there are 176 signatory countries out of 195 countries in the world today. Some of them include:

• Argentina                                    Australia                                     Belgium
• Benin                                           Brazil                                           Ghana
• India                                             Italy                                             Kenya
• Paraguay                                     Portugal                                       Saudi Arabia
• Senegal                                        South Africa                                Spain
• Egypt                                           Germany                                      Nigeria
• United Arab Emirates              United Kingdom                        United States of America

• Validity/Term of Protection

Copyrights upon registration are valid in Nigeria for the period of the author’s life time with an additional Seventy (70) years post mortem for an individual and Fifty years (50) after the date of first publication for works published by the government or a corporate entity. This term varies from country to country however, under the Berne Convention is 50 years from the date of the author’s death.

• Ownership

A registered copyright may be owned in the following categories:

• Original Ownership – This is a copyright owned exclusively by the author of a work, he enjoy exclusive ownership above all others.
• Publisher Ownership – The publishing company may have copyrights over an author’s work if they used their resources to create the works
• Work for Hire – The author of a work will not be the owner of such works where the work was created in a salaried employment or work for hire then the employer/organisation shall be the owned copyrights of the work.
• Collection Management Organisations – Collection organizations are set up to regulate infringement on copyright whose author maybe deceased or works which are now in public domain. Where a work falls in this category, the collection organization shall grant license or permission to anyone seeking to use works within its custody.

3. Collective Management Organisations in Nigeria

The NCC is by law mandated to grant approval to organisations wishing to function as collective management organization. The organizations are created to manage and administer rights of copyright owners when it is impracticable for such rights to be managed individually and directly by the right owners. The organization helps negotiate and grant licenses, collect royalties and distribute same to the copyright owners.

The recognized and acceptable Collective Management Organisations in the literary and music industries include:

1. Reprographic Rights Organisation of Nigeria (REPRONIG) – Literary Industry
2. Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) – Music Industry
3. Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS) – Movie Industry
4. Procedure for Registration in Nigeria

The registration is done online through the NCC’s portal by:

1. Creating an account on the NCC portal for the work to be registered;
2. Preparing all the documents required in the acceptable forms;
3. Uploading the e – copy of the works;
4. Making online payments; and
5. Obtaining a certificate from the Commission.

4.1        Required Information/Documents;

1. Author’s full name
2. Date of Birth
3. Contact Information; Address, Email and phone number
4. Year of creation for the work proposed to be registered
5. International Standard Book Number, International Standard Music Number OR International Standard Serial Number for books, magazines, periodicals or journals (where applicable)
6. Letter of transfer of copyrights (where applicable)
7. Full details of the transferee (where F is applicable)
8. Contact information of person(s) to be contacted for licenses and permission

4.2        Duration

Upon submission of the documents online, the documents are processed and online certificate is issued within Seventy Two (72) hours, while the physical certificate is issued within Fifteen (15) working days.

Do not hesitate to contact us for further clarification.

Yours faithfully,

            Fatima Inusa