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Home › Consumers International IP Watchlist Report 2010 › Appendix A: Country reports

Nigeria

Thu, 11/03/2010 - 08:34 — Felicia Monye

Legal background

Scope and duration of copyright

Is the period of protection of each type of copyright work limited to the minimum duration mandated by the Berne Convention? NO
For literal, musical or artistic work, 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies; in the case of government or a body corporate, 70 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published; for cinematograph films, photographs, sound recordings and broadcasts, 50 years after author’s death or after year of first publication.		 CA s.2 and Schedule 1
Must a work be fixed in some material form before copyright attaches? YES
Copyright protects the form in which the author’s idea is put and not the idea itself. It must be in some material form before the law will protect it.
Is the exercise of copyright subject to competition law, for example by compulsory licensing or regulation of royalties in the case of copyright holders who misuse their monopoly power? YES
In as much as the law protects the copyright of authors, it also encourages people to employ the expressed ideas of others because it is only through that process that knowledge is generated for further use of all.
Is the exercise of copyright subject to compliance with a bill of rights or similar human rights instrument, for example by preventing copyright from being used to stifle protected speech? YES
The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. Any copyright law that is inconsistent with this provision is void to the extent of that inconsistency.		 CFRN ss.1(3), 39
Does the compilation of a database of non-original material fall outside the scope of copyright? NO
Compilation is copyrightable even if the database used comprises non-original material. Provided the database is put in a distinct material form it does not fall outside the scope of copyright.
Do exceptions and limitations in national copyright law prevail over contracts purporting to limit or override them? YES
Though parties enjoy freedom of contract, they are not at liberty to contract outside an existing principle of law. The exceptions or limitations recognised in copyright law prevail over contracts purporting to override them.

Freedoms to access and use

By Home UsersIs there a general exception for the fair use of copyright material for any purpose that satisfies a set of balancing criteria? LIMITED
Private use, non-commercial use, use for educational or research purposes, fair dealing, etc constitute exceptions to copyright infringement.		 CA Schedule 2
Is time, space and format shifting allowed (such as ripping music from CD to an MP3 player)? NO
Ripping music from CD to an MP3 Player is an infringement of copyright in the music.
Can consumers reproduce copyright material for their own use in the original format, for example for backup purposes? LIMITED
If the reproduction is for private use, it is an exception to copyright infringement. If it is a re-arrangement of an old work which amounts to a new work, it is in itself copyrightable.
Can works be communicated to a limited public (for example, family and friends) without infringing copyright? YES
If the communication is not a wholesale reproduction of a copyrighted work made for commercial purpose, it is not an infringement of copyright.
Does a collective licensing scheme permit the copying or sharing of copyright material by consumers in exchange for a media or equipment levy? YES
A collective society exists for the sharing of copyright material by consumers. A Copyright Licensing Panel oversees the collective licensing of copyright material.		 CA ss.39, 37
For EducationIs reproduction permitted for the purposes of research or study? YES
A student may photocopy or reproduce the entire copy of a text as long as it is for his private study and research.		 CA Schedule 2
Does any such research and study provision cover distance and online education? YES
It covers all forms of education. Both law and government have a policy of protecting the education of its citizenry; this cannot be sacrificed for the sake of individual copyright. Where there is an issue between protecting the right of an individual and the right of the citizenry, the law leans in favour of the citizenry.
May translations of works be made for educational purposes? NO
A translation of a literary work in another language is entitled to a distinct copyright protection. The laws contrues the difference in language as distinction sufficient to differentiate the two works.
May works be reproduced and published by educational institutions in connection with systematic instructional activities? NO
The benefit of using a copyrighted work for educational purposes is given only to individual scholars and not to educational institutions.
OnlineIs hyperlinking to a Web site allowed without permission of the site's owner? LIMITED
The Copyright Act defines literary work to include computer programmes. Hyperlinking to a copyrighted website without permission of the owner of the site may amount to copyright infringement.		 CA ss.6 (1)(a) and 51
Are temporary or transient copies, incidental to a lawful use, excepted from copyright? YES
The lawful use of a copyrighted work is guaranteed by law. By doing this, the law also guarantees all the temporary and transit facilities for the enjoyment of that right. To do otherwise will amount to giving with one hand and taking with the other which the law abhors.
Are ISPs protected from liability for infringements by third parties, because the law either does not impose liability upon intermediaries or limits their liability in certain circumstances? LIMITED
If the ISPs are implicated in the infringement by 3rd parties, the law will impose liability on them despite the fact that they are intermediaries. If the ISPs are not implicated in the infringements by 3rd parties, they will not be made liable as the law does not necessarily punish one for the wrong of another.
Do ISPs provide Internet access without conducting filtering or monitoring for potential copyright-infringing material? YES
Most ISPs are more or less novice in the scientific build-up of the Internet. They are not able to conduct filtering or monitoring for potential copyright infringing material. Sometimes when they are able to do it, they may not want to act as that may amount to sabotaging their own business and driving their customers away.
Are the names and personal information of customers who are alleged to have engaged in copyright-infringing behaviour protected from disclosure by their ISPs? NO
Some ISPs display notices threatening to expose copyright infringers to the Police or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). But they may end up not doing this to avoid withdrawal of patronage by their customers.
By content creatorsCan copyright works be non-commercially remixed or mashed up into new works? NO
For example, copyright may subsist in an arrangement of old music which amounts to new work. Again, an adaptation of an existing work for different instrument is eligible for copyright.		 CA s.1(4)
May computer software be reverse engineered for the purpose of creating interoperable software? NO
It is the same position in law as re-arranging an old literary work to make it amount to a new work which is copyrightable.
Is the incidental inclusion of a work in other material permitted? NO
If the work incidentally included is not acknowledged, this is an infringement. Moreover, copyright in a book of which “A” is the proprietor will not protect drawings or illustrations, the copyright of which is not vested in him, though such drawings furnish the illustrations of the book.
Is there are copyright exception for parody or satire? LIMITED
The reproduction or publication of a copyrighted work by way of parody, pastiche, or caricature constitutes exceptions to copyright infringement. This list does not include the satire.		 CA, Schedule 2 para (b)
Do creators who license their work retain the moral right of attribution? YES
A creator who licenses his work parts with the economic right; but still retains the moral right of attribution. Section 12(2) of the Copyright Act provides that the moral right of attribution is perpetual, inalienable and imprescriptible.
By the pressIs there a copyright exception for the news of the day? YES
The Copyright Act does not provide for exceptions for copying the news of the day. It is however the practice of newspaper editors when they wish to publish news of the day appearing in another newspaper, to ask for permission to do so, or at least, acknowledge their source.
May copyright material be reproduced for the purposes of review and criticism? YES
Copyright material may be reproduced for review and criticism. This is one of the exceptions to copyright infringement.		 CA, Schedule 2 para (a)
May political speeches, speeches in judicial proceedings and/or other public speeches be used for any purpose? LIMITED
Such political speeches, speeches in judicial proceedings and/or other public speeches are copyrightable, if the work has been fixed in any definite medium of expression now known or later to be developed, from which it can be perceived, reproduced or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of any machine or device. Otherwise, it may be used for any purpose.		 CA s.1(2)(b)
May quotations be used for any purpose? LIMITED
Quotations may be eligible for copyright if sufficient efforts have been expended in making them to give them an original character. Otherwise, they may be used for any purpose.		 CA s.1(2)(a)
By LibrariesMay libraries copy works that cannot reasonably be obtained commercially? NO
They cannot copy the works for commercial purposes without the license or authority of the original copyright owner. If the works have gone out of print, it is still the copyright owner who will re-issue them. If the owner refuses to license it, the library may seek compulsory licence from government.		 CA ss. 37 and 38
May libraries copy works for users for the purpose of research or study? NO
The libraries cannot. The right to copy someone’s work for the purpose of research or study is given directly to individuals. A scholar who wishes to do so may copy the work himself. The intermediary act of the library by doing such copying is not protected; it amounts to infringement of copyright.
Are libraries allowed to make preservation or archive copies of materials in their collections? YES
They can do this to ensure that there is always a reserve copy of any book deposited with them. Researchers are to have access to the copies on the floor of the library. Should the library run out of copies of a particular book, the right thing to do is to ask the depositor/author to issue it a fresh copy.
In making permitted copies, are libraries entitled to circumvent technological protection mechanisms (TPMs)? YES
By disabled usersIs it permissible to copy or adapt work for the use of those with disabilities? LIMITED
There is no such provision in the Copyright Act. However, if such copying is for research and non-commercial use it may not be impossible to allow copying or adaptation.
In public affairsAre laws excluded from copyright? YES
Laws are the product of the collective will of the people for their own good. The copyright belongs to the people who are encouraged to read and learn them. The fact that ignorance of the law is no excuse implies that people are punished for not seeking to obtain and read the law.
Are other governmental works excluded from copyright? NO
The import of paragraph (1) of the 1st Schedule to the Copyright Act is that copyright may enure in some governmental works. Again, section 4 of the Copyright Act specifically provides for copyright in works of government, state authorities and international bodies.
Is there a copyright exception for use of material in judicial proceedings? NO
Are the results of publicly funded research required to be published under an open access license? NO
Copyright in publicly funded research vests in the person or authority who commissioned the work.		 CA s.10 (2)(a)

Freedoms to share and transfer

May copyright works be freely offered for commercial rental? NO
Although not freely, copyright works can be rented; copyright is transmissible/transferable by assignment; testamentary disposition; or by operation of law just as a movable property.		 CA s.11
Does the law permit a work to be released to the public domain before the copyright term expires, without any formality other than an overt act of relinquishment? YES
Once the duration of copyright has elapsed, it falls into the public domain. A copyright owner may relinguish his copyright before he lapse of its duration if he so wishes.
Are orphaned works treated differently in the law to other copyright works, for example by allowing them to be compulsorily licenced, limiting remedies, or by releasing them into the public domain? NO
If a work is orphaned, its copyright enures until 70 years (for literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs) and 50 years (for cimematograph films, photographs, sound recordings and broadcasts) after the end of the year in which the work was first published. See the 1st Schedule to the Copyright Act.
Is parallel importation permitted? NO
Copyright can only vest in the local owner and any person claiming under foreign priority.
Are there incentives for the use, production and dissemination of free and open source software within copyright law or elsewhere in national law/policy? NO
Are there incentives for the use, production and dissemination of open access material (e.g. textbooks) within copyright law or elsewhere in national law / policy? LIMITED
Production of books and other educational material is exempted from the Value Added Tax.
Are there specifications or incentives in national law/policy for the use of open document formats? NO

Administration and enforcement

What is the maximum penalty for copyright infringement for an individual? A fine of N500, 000.00 (five hundred thousand Naira) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both. CA ss.19 – 24
What is the maximum penalty for copyright infringement for a corporation? This is not provided for by the Act. But any director, manager, secretary or other official implicated in the infringement may be proceeded against and punished as an individual. CA s.22
Do the penalties for copyright infringement distinguish between personal versus (large-scale) commercial use, other than at the discretion of a judge? NO
It is at the discretion of the judge. But large scale or flagrant infringement can always warrant examlpary damage.		 Olarewaju
Is the creation or distribution of devices that can circumvent technological protection measures (TPM) permitted, where such devices can be used for purposes that would not infringe copyright? YES
There is no specific provision on this in the Copyright Act, but generally, anything that does not amount to infringement of copyright is permitted.		 CA s.15
Is the use of such devices by consumers permitted for any purpose that would not infringe copyright? YES
See explanation above.
Does national copyright or consumer protection law require disclosure to consumers of the existence of TPMs and any potential limitations on the use of TPM-protected material? LIMITED
Redress might be gained from the State Consumer Protection Committee in the case of material sold without notice of TPMs.
Are the operations of copyright collectives subject to public oversight? YES
The operations of copyright collectives are subject to the supervision of the Copyright Licensing Panel and the Copyright Inspectors.		 CA ss.37 and 38
Are ISPs independent of copyright owners, to the extent that no law or industry code of conduct requires them to notify their users who are alleged to have committed a copyright infringement online? NO
Indeed, they display notices to the that effect at their business premises.
Are criminal sanctions limited to cases of large-scale commercial counterfeiting? YES
Liability is limited to anyone who makes or causes to be made for sale, hire, or for the purpose of trade or business any infringing copy of a work in which copyright subsists.		 CA s.20
Are damages for copyright infringement based on the loss sustained, rather than by a pre-established or statutory damages award? YES
The copyright infringer pays damages to cover the proceeds the copyright owner would have made had he sold the number of copies unlawfully reproduced and sold by the infringer.
Is there provision to penalise the wrongful allegation of copyright infringement? LIMITED
The general tort of malicious prosecution may apply.

Conclusions

The Nigerian Copyright Commission is responsible for all matters affecting copyrighti in Nigeria as provided for in the Act. See http://www.nigcopyright.org for the activities of the Commission.

Copyright is enforceable in Nigeria by civil and criminal proceedings. Some important judicial decisions are Voltic Nig. Ltd. V. Group (2003) 8 NWLR (Pt. 821) p. 58 CA; Adenuga v. Ilesanmi Press & Sons Nig. Ld. (1991) 5NWLR 82 C; and Group Dawone v. Voltic Nig. Ltd. (2008) 7NWLR (Pt. 1087) 637 SC. Basically, the courts align the law of copyright with the inherent content of the Nigerian Legal System. For instance, it has been held that the use of Anton Pillar order in Nigeria is subject to the Constitutionally guaranteed right to private and family life.

Nigerian copyright law is strictly applied against any person who infringes copyright. It is however favourable in the sense that an individual consumer may use copyrighted materials if such use is for personal purposes.

 

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