The Nigerian Copyright Commission has proposed a digital copyright piracy bill to the incoming 8th national assembly as it aims to join forces with internet service providers to identify sites being used for online copyright infringements and subsequently shut them down so as to bring the issue to a barest minimum.
The bill, called the Nigerian Copyright Act, will also impose strict sanctions on offenders while aiming to give copyright owners what is rightfully theirs.
According to NCC’s Director General, Afam Ezekude, it has concluded plans to impose a two percent Copyright Levy Order on photocopying machines, DVD’s, phones and other digital products made in the country or being imported before the end of May, 2015.
He explained that a minimal levy would be imposed on digital products which can be used to infringe on peoples’ copyrights and the levy would also be a way of compensating copyright owners.
The DG pointed out that the levy order was awaiting the approval of the Minister of Finance for its implementation.
“As we speak, the order is awaiting a nod from the Minister of Finance so that we can start implementation. It is important that this levy order is implemented so that the right owners can get what is rightfully theirs.
“Before the levy order was put in the gazette, we did the relevant consultations with the industry people that would be affected like the Importers Association of Nigeria and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and they keyed into it,” he said.
Ezekude further affirmed that we are now in the age of online piracy, adding that the government needs to address the issue by making the penalties for copyright infringement more stringent in order to discourage people from engaging in the act.
The DG noted that the commission had in the last four years carried out about 202 anti-piracy operations, arrested over 400 suspected pirates, secured 53 criminal convictions and seized over six million items of copyright works valued at N6.5 billion.