By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has issued a public advisory mandating businesses and organisations that use copyrighted content in their operations to obtain the necessary licences or authorisations, in compliance with the Copyright Act, 2022.
In a statement signed by the Director-General Dr John Asein, the NCC called the attention of operators of public and commercial places including hotels, guest houses, clubs, lounges, bars, restaurants, malls, supermarkets, shops, event centres, gyms, theatres, cinema halls, banking halls, aircraft, public transportation systems, television and radio stations, telecom companies, and digital service providers to the legal requirement of using in a public without the authorization of Copyright owners represented by their CMO.
The Commission noted that the newly enacted Copyright Act strengthens the rights of authors, creators, and performers of musical works, sound recordings and audio-visual works granting them exclusive control over the public performance, communication to the public, and making available of their works in a public place.
“In line with the Federal Government’s policy to ensure adequate returns on creative investment and grow the creative economy, operators must now secure the appropriate licences for the use of copyrighted content,” the Commission stated.
Businesses found in breach of the law risk facing civil and criminal sanctions. The NCC advised operators to obtain the necessary permissions through Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) accredited by the Commission to collect royalties on behalf of rights holders. The accredited CMOs are Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte for musical works and sound recording and Audiovisual Rights Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte for film works
To ensure compliance, the Commission announced that Copyright Officers will begin conducting routine inspections at venues where copyrighted music or audiovisual content is used nationwide.
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