Copyright Notification Scheme was created by the Nigerian Copyright Commission to enable the owners of copyright works give notice of their copyright ownership or notice of any transfer to the NCC.
Boma from Kalabari, Rivers State has written a book on his experiences as a teenager/young adult who grew up in the times of great unrest in his home State of Rivers. He relates his experiences of scurrying under his bed at 5am on a Tuesday morning from the fright of the gunshots coming from the streets. He wants to register his book as a copyright work so that he can enjoy protection of his rights in the book.
What Boma doesn't realise is that the minute he wrote down his life experiences on the note pad, he had created a copyright work with the exclusive right to exploit the book as he wishes. Boma does not need to register his book for it to have copyright. The book became a copyright work immediately as he wrote it. The same principle applies to a painter, a song writer, a music composer as well as a film producer and even a photographer.
As soon as an original work is expressed in a definite form, copyright automatically exists. In Nigeria and the European Union countries, registration is not required for a copyright work to be given recognition and protection. Unlike trademarks, copyright owners do not need to show proof of ownership by a registration or certificate of ownership.
The position of Nigerian laws is that copyright exists in any literary work, musical work, artistic work, cinematograph films, sound recordings, and broadcasts without a need for registration. The International Conventions, to which Nigeria is a signatory such as the Berne Convention and TRIPS, also provide for automatic ownership of copyright and precludes its member states from applying a registration process.
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) the regulatory body for copyright, has created a Copyright Notification Scheme (CNS) to enable the owners of copyright works give notice of their copyright ownership or notice of any transfer to the NCC. This is not a registration procedure and the scheme does not confer copyright on a work. The NCC confirms that the purpose of the scheme is to enable the Commission have a database of copyright owners. The scheme is applauded and encouraged but is not mandatory and does not in any way affect the rights of a copyright owner.
Before March, 1989 copyright owners in the United States of America were required to register their copyright works to show proof of ownership. This position has changed. Upon its ratification of the Berne Convention, the United States law now recognises that copyright exists in a work as soon as it is created and expressed in a tangible form. There is still a registration process in the US but the process does not confer ownership, it only puts the copyright holder in a better position if litigation arises over the copyright.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Check out other interesting articles in this edition of our newsletter. If you would like to find out more about the issues discussed, please send us an email on oollp.ipmedia@olajideoyewole.com
0+
