Good job!

I came across this article with the above title in the Daily Trust publication of Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Here’s an initiative that I find commendable and I believe should be given more generous media attention.
The article stated that the anti-piracy campaign embarked upon by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), has received the commendation of the United States Authors Guild. The US Guild described the initiative as worthy of emulation by stakeholders.
The Guild in a report posted on its website, particularly commended the NCC’s secondary school awareness campaign aimed at teaching secondary school students the importance of exploring and respecting creativity and copyright.
The Authors Guild is a US leading advocate for writers’ interest in effective Copyright protection, fair contracts, free expression, offering legal assistance and a broad range of web services to its members. It was founded as the Authors League of America in 1912 and seen by many notable authors as an authoritative voice for American writers.
The Guild stressed that “while Nigeria clearly recognizes a need to improve copyright protection; it is apparently already doing a better job than many nations”.
The group further added that Nigeria “did not make the US Government’s latest list of worst offenders of Intellectual Property (IP) rights.” It also mentioned that Nigeria has been off the US Congregational International Anti-Piracy Caucus’ annual watch list for some years running.
According to a Press Release issued by the Commission, the training arm of NCC, the Nigerian Copyright Institute, commenced a series of Sensitisation Workshop/Training for secondary schools across the country on the need to imbibe a culture of respect for Copyright and to nurture creative talents while understanding how Copyright protects creativity.
The Director-General of the Commission, Mr Afam Ezekude, said it was gratifying to observe that the Commission’s zero tolerance policy against piracy and all forms on IP theft is beginning to attract global recognition.
On my part, I say kudos to the Nigerian Copyright Commission; keep up the good work!

Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry has in recent years galloped ahead of Hollywood to be ranked second in the world in production terms after India's Bollywood. The industry grew quickly in the 1990s and 2000s to become the second largest film industry in the world in terms of the quantity of films produced annually, placing it ahead of the United States and behind only the Indian Cinema (Tamil Cinema, Telugu Cinema, Hindi Cinema,etc.). According to Hala Gorani and Jeff Koinange formerly of CNN, Nigeria has a US$250 million movie industry, creating some 200 videos for the home video market every month. Nigerian cinema is Africa's largest movie industry in terms of both value and the number of movies produced per year. And yet the Nigerian economy looses billions of Naira annually to piracy.
Only recently, some movie marketers, under the aegis of Yoruba Video Films Producers and Marketers (YVFPMA), Association of Nigeria, staged a protest against the flagrant piracy of movies in the popular Idumota Market, Lagos. To enforce this, the marketers stopped the further release of home videos of Yoruba genre into the market with effect from Monday, July 1. This was contained in a petition written by the marketers to the National Assembly. According to the General Secretary, YVFPMA, Mr. Tunji Ojetola, the petition is presently being considered on the floor of the National Assembly.
This scenario is not peculiar to the Yoruba movie industry alone, but is a reflection of the entire movie industry, including Kannywood (Hausa movie industry). In spite of the huge potentials of Nollywood, billions of naira is lost to untaxed income, annually. According to the statistics provided by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Nigeria looses billions of Naira to piracy every year. This is really bleeding the industry and major players in the industry find it disturbing.
Not even the Federal Government’s $200 million “intervention” fund, made available to the industry in 2011, to help develop it, has been able to address the major issues bedeviling the industry. If these issues are not nipped in the bud, Nollywood will go extinct…HOW CAN WE PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING?
HOW CAN WE MAKE PROJECT NOLLYWOOD, A SUSTAINABLE ONE?

Thanks Maavo, you are welcome!

@ darlynfelix92n, Maavo and goodwork, while we sympathise with the socio-economic realities of the average Nigerian, one cannot for any reason, justify Intellectual Property (IP) theft and clearly, this is what Piracy is about….would you, because you cannot afford an article of interest in a shop, shop-lift?

Maavo and goodwork, to answer your question on how to identify original CDs, VCDs and DVDs: the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), prescribed the mandatory use of the SID (Source Identification) Code adopted and managed by the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI), an international organization representing the recording industry worldwide, to assist in the prevention of optical disc piracy. The SID codes consist of two types of codes: a Mastering (LBR) Code that identifies the Plant that manufactures the master (Stamper); and a Mould Code that identifies the plant where the disc is replicated. Both codes consist of either four or five digit codes preceded by the letters “IFPI”. The Commission issues the SID code to all Mastering Facilities and Optical Discs Manufacturing and Replicating Plants upon their application. In summary, the SID Code is a primary identification mechanism.

However, you find that some artistes, short-change themselves by not going through registered optical discs plants, they produce and duplicate their works by themselves and by so doing, omit the SID Code that would have helped in differentiating original works from the pirated ones and therby empowering pirates, some more.

In answering your second question, I would say that cost is determined by how much the artist has invested into the production of his work. To produce an album, you will pay for: session time, session musicians, producer/engineer’s fee, graphic artist, cost of distribution, professional photographer and promotion cost. These expenses and more, is what will determine the minimum amount at which the Music CD/DVD/VCD will be sold. And not the socio-economic realities of Nigerians.

If you cannot justify any form of theft, while pleading socio-economic realities, because when people steal, they often claim it is as a result of poverty; why then, should there be any justification for piracy or any other form of IP theft, which is all about defrauding artistes/authors/creators of their economic and moral rights?

let's have your comments on this issue....please!!!

Afam4eva your response please

Afam,

Are you saying artistes shouldn’t recoup their investments in the pursuit of their musical career and is that morally justifiable? What’s wrong with making profits from diverse portfolios? And what happens to up-coming artistes like my friend, who have not built up a fan base and are still trying to attain or secure public recognition? Obviously at this stage there is no income to be made from endorsements and live performances.

By the way, are you in the entertainment industry because you sound as if you know a bit about piracy?

How Much Will You Spend On Buying An Original CD/DVD?

I want to raise a nagging moral issue that has been on my mind for a while. How many Nigerians will on principle pay the right amount for a CD/DVD as opposed to buying a pirated one?
I am raising this because I know of a struggling up-coming musician who invested close to a million on his debut album. He paid so much on production: session time, session musicians, producer/engineer’s fee, graphic artist, cost of distribution, professional photographer and promotion cost.
He incurred all the above listed expenses and more in the cause of producing the CD. Eventually, the CD was released at the price of N1, 500 (one thousand, five hundred naira). This price was calculated to enable him make a profit and recoup his investment. It represented the minimum price at which any of the above can be achieved.
Unfortunately, sales of the CD were abysmally low because as soon as it was released, copies were pirated and sold for N200 (two hundred naira) in major cities of Nigeria.
Consequently, he is finding it extremely difficult to make a living and survive pursuing a musical career. He is discouraged and is on the brink of abandoning his dream; which is a shame because he has serious musical talents and would have been an asset to the Nigeria music industry.
This pathetic scenario is a reflection of the average Nigerian artist….it takes me right back to my opening poser: “HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND ON BUYING AN ORIGINAL CD/DVD OF YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC OR MOVIE”? HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND TO KEEP ALIVE THE DREAM OF A BUDDING TALENT? IS THERE ANY NIGERIAN OUT THERE WHO ON PRINCIPLE WILL CHOOSE TO PAY THE RIGHT AMOUNT FOR AN ORIGINAL CD AS OPPOSED TO BUYING CHEAP PIRATED COPY?
AND FOR THOSE NIGERIANS WHO PERSIST IN BUYING CHEAP PIRATED COPIES, DO THEY REALIZE THEY ARE DEFRAUDING CREATIVE INTELLIGENT NIGERIANS OF THEIR JUST REWARD AND ARE PARTY TO DESTROYING OUR CREATIVE INDUSTRY?
Nigerians, what are your thoughts on this issue?

I want to raise a nagging moral issue that has been on my mind for a while. How many Nigerians will on principle pay the right amount for a CD/DVD as opposed to buying a pirated one?
I am raising this because I know of a struggling up-coming musician who invested close to a million on his debut album. He paid so much on production: session time, session musicians, producer/engineer’s fee, graphic artist, cost of distribution, professional photographer and promotion cost.
He incurred all the above listed expenses and more in the cause of producing the CD. Eventually, the CD was released at the price of N1, 500 (one thousand, five hundred naira). This price was calculated to enable him make a profit and recoup his investment. It represented the minimum price at which any of the above can be achieved.
Unfortunately, sales of the CD were abysmally low because as soon as it was released, copies were pirated and sold for N200 (two hundred naira) in major cities of Nigeria.
Consequently, he is finding it extremely difficult to make a living and survive pursuing a musical career. He is discouraged and is on the brink of abandoning his dream; which is a shame because he has serious musical talents and would have been an asset to the Nigeria music industry.
This pathetic scenario is a reflection of the average Nigerian artist….it takes me right back to my opening poser: “HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND ON BUYING AN ORIGINAL CD/DVD OF YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC OR MOVIE” HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND TO KEEP ALIVE THE DREAM OF A BUDDING TALENT IS THERE ANY NIGERIAN OUT THERE WHO ON PRINCIPLE WILL CHOOSE TO PAY THE RIGHT AMOUNT FOR AN ORIGINAL CD AS OPPOSED TO BUYING CHEAP PIRATED COPY
AND FOR THOSE NIGERIANS WHO PERSIST IN BUYING CHEAP PIRATED COPIES, DO THEY REALIZE THEY ARE DEFRAUDING CREATIVE INTELLIGENT NIGERIANS OF THEIR JUST REWARD AND ARE PARTY TO DESTROYING OUR CREATIVE INDUSTRY
Nigerians, what are your thoughts on this issue?

Please visit the link for more information: www.copyright.gov.ng