Nature of Copyright in Broadcast

7.—(1) Subject to this section, copyright in a broadcast shall be the exclusive right to control the doing in Nigeria of any of the following acts, that is—

(a) the recording and the re-broadcasting of the whole or a substantial part of the broadcast;

(b) the communication to the public of the whole or a substantial part of a television broadcast, either in its original form or in any form recognisably derived from the original; and

(c) the distribution to the public for commercial purposes, of copies of the work, by way of rental, lease, hire, loan or similar arrangement.

(2) The copyright in a television broadcast shall include the right to control the taking of still photographs from the broadcast.

(3) The exceptions specified in paragraphs (a), (h), (k), (n) and (o) of the Second Schedule to this Act shall apply to the copyright in a broadcast, in like manner as they apply to copyright in literary, musical or artistic work or a cinematograph film.

Broadcasting of Works Incorporated in Cinematograph Film

8.—(1) Where the owner of the copyright in any literary, musical or artistic work authorises a person to incorporate the work in a cinematograph film and a broadcasting authority broadcasts the film, the owner of the copyright shall, in the absence of any express agreement to the contrary between the owner and that person, be deemed to have authorised the broadcast.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, where a broadcasting authority broadcasts a cinematograph film in which a musical work is incorporated, the owner of the right to broadcast the musical work shall, subject to this Act, be entitled to receive fair compensation from the broadcasting authority.

(3) In the absence of an agreement on or relating to the compensation payable under subsection (2) of this section, the amount of compensation shall be determined by the court.

First Ownership of Copyright

9.—(1) Copyright conferred by sections 2 and 3 of this Act, shall vest initially in the author.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (6) of section 10 of this Act where a work—

(a) is commissioned by a person who is not the author’s employer under a contract of service or apprenticeship; or

(b) not having been so commissioned, is made in the course of the author’s employment, the copyright shall belong in the first instance to the author, unless otherwise stipulated in writing under the contract.

(3) Where a literary, artistic or musical work is made by the author in the course of his employment by the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical under a contract of service or apprenticeship as is so made for the purpose of publication in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, the said proprietor shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of copyright in the work in so far as the copyright relates to the publication of the work in any newspaper, magazine or similar periodical; or to the reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so published; but in all other respects, the author shall be the first owner of the copyright in the work.

(4) In the case of a cinematograph film or sound recording, the author shall be obliged to conclude, prior to the making of the work, contracts in writing with all those whose works are to be used in the making of the work.

(5) Copyright conferred by section 4 of this Act, shall vest initially in the Government on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the State authority on behalf of the State in question, or in the international body in question, as the case may be, and not in the author.

Assignment and Licence

10.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, copyright shall be transmissible by assignment, by testamentary disposition or by operation of law, as movable property.

(2) An assignment or testamentary disposition of copyright may be limited so as to apply to only some of the acts which the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to control, or to a part only of the period of the copyright, or to a specified country or other geographical area.

(3) No assignment of copyright and no exclusive licence to do an act the doing of which is controlled by copyright shall have effect unless it is in writing.

(4) A non-exclusive licence to do an act the doing of which is controlled by copyright may be written or oral, or may be inferred from conduct.

(5) An assignment or licence granted by one copyright owner shall have effect as if granted by his co-owner also, and, subject to any contract between them, fees received by the grantors shall be divided equitably between all the co owners.

(6) For the purposes of this subsection, persons shall be deemed to be co-owners—

(a) if they share a joint interest in the whole or any part of a copyright; or

(b) if they have interests in the various copyrights in a composite production, that is to say, a production consisting of two or more works.

(7) An assignment, licence or testamentary disposition may be effectively granted or made in respect of a future work or an existing work in which copyright does not yet subsist; and the prospective copyright in any such work shall be transmissible by operation of law as movable property.

(8) A testamentary disposition of material on which a work is first written or otherwise recorded shall, in the absence of any contrary indication, be presumed to include any copyright or prospective copyright in the work which is vested in the deceased.

Right to Claim Authorship

11.—(1) The author of a work in which copyright subsists has the right—

(a) to claim authorship of his work, in particular that his authorship be indicated in connection with any of the acts referred to in section 5 of this Act except when the work is included incidentally or accidentally when reporting current events by means of broadcasting;

(b) to object and to seek relief in connection with any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, and any other derogatory action in relation to his work, where such action would be or is prejudicial to his honour or reputation.

(2) The rights referred to in subsection (1) of this section, are perpetual, inalienable and imprescriptible.

(3) For the purpose of this section, “author” includes his heirs and successors in title.

Right to Share in Proceeds of Sale

12.—(1) Notwithstanding any assignment or sale of the original work, the authors of graphic works, three-dimensional works and manuscripts shall have an inalienable right to a share in the proceeds of any sale of that work or manuscript by public auction or through a dealer whatever the method used by the latter to carry out the operation.

(2) The right conferred by this section shall apply to originals of such work.

(3) The conditions for the exercise of the right conferred by this section shall be determined by regulations to be made by the Nigerian Copyright Commission established under section 30 of this Act.

(4) The foregoing provisions of this section, shall not apply to architectural works or applied art.

(5) In this section, “author” includes heirs and successors-in-title.

Duty of Printer, etc.

13. Publishers, printers, producers or manufacturers of works in which copyright subsists shall keep a register of all works produced by them showing the following, that is—

(a) the name of the author;

(b) the title;

(c) year of production; and

(d) the quantity of the work produced.

Infringement of Copyright

14.—(1) Copyright is infringed by any person who without the licence or authorization of the owner of the copyright—

(a) does, or causes any other person to do an act, the doing of which is controlled by copyright;

(b) imports or causes to be imported into Nigeria any copy of a work which if it had been made in Nigeria would be an infringing copy under this section of this Act;

(c) exhibits in public any article in respect of which copyright is infringed under paragraph (a) of this subsection;

(d) distributes by way of trade, offers for sale, hire or otherwise or for any purpose prejudicial to the owner of the copyright, any article in respect of which copyright is infringed under paragraph (a) of this subsection;

(e) makes or has in his possession, plates, master tapes, machines, equipment or contrivances used for the purpose of making infringed copies of the work;

(f) permits a place of public entertainment or of business to be used for a performance in the public of the work, where the performance constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless the person permitting the place to be so used was not aware, and had no reasonable ground for suspecting that the performance would be an infringement of the copyright;

(g) performs or causes to be performed for the purposes of trade or business or as supporting facility to a trade or business, any work in which copyright subsists.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, or any other provision of this Act, where any work in which copyright subsists or a reproduction of any such works is comprised in—

(a) the archives stored in the National Archives established under the Public Archives Act¹; or

(b) the public records of a State, being records for the storage or custody of which provision is made by law, the copyright in the work is not infringed by the making or the supplying to any person, of any reproduction of the work in pursuance of that Act or law.

Action for Infringement

15.—(1) Subject to this Act, infringement of copyright shall be actionable at the suit of the owner, assignee or an exclusive licensee of the copyright, as the case may be, in the Federal High Court exercising jurisdiction in the place where the infringement occurred; and in any action for such an infringement, all such relief by way of damages, injunction, accounts or otherwise shall be available to the plaintiff as is available in any corresponding proceedings in respect of infringement of other proprietary rights.

(2) Where an action for infringement of copyright brought by the copyright owner or an exclusive licensee relates to an infringement in respect of which they have concurrent rights of action, the copyright owner or the exclusive licensee may not, without the leave of court, proceed with the action unless the other is either joined as a plaintiff or added as a defendant.

(3) Where in an action for infringement of copyright, it is proved or admitted that an infringement was committed but that at the time of the infringement, the defendant was not aware and had no reasonable grounds for suspecting that copyright subsisted in the work to which the action relates, the plaintiff shall not be entitled under this section to any damages against the defendant in respect of the infringement, but shall be entitled to an account of profits in respect of the infringement, whether or not any other relief is granted under this section.

(4) Where in an action under this section, an infringement of copyright is proved or admitted, and the court in which the action is brought, having regard (apart from all other material considerations) to—

(a) the flagrancy of the infringement; and

(b) any benefit shown to have accrued to the defendant by reason of the infringement, is satisfied that effective relief would not otherwise be available to the plaintiff, the court, in assessing damages for the infringement, shall have power to award such additional damages by virtue of this subsection as the court may consider appropriate in the circumstances.

(5) No injunction shall be issued in proceedings for infringement of copyright which requires a completed or partly completed building to be demolished or prevents the completion of a partly completed building.

(6) In this section, “action” includes a counter-claim, and references to the plaintiff and to the defendant in an action shall be construed accordingly.

Limitation to the Right of Action

15A. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or any other law, no action for the infringement of copyright or any right under this Act shall be commenced or maintained by any person—

(a) carrying on the business of negotiating and granting of licence;

(b) collecting and distributing royalties in respect of copyright works or representing more than 50 owners of copyright in any category of works protected by this Act,

unless it is approved under section 32B of this Act to operate as a collecting society or is otherwise issued with a certificate of exemption by the Commission.

Conversion Rights

16. All infringing copies of any work in which copyright subsists, or of any substantial part thereof, and all plates, master tapes, machines, equipment or contrivances used, or intended to be used for the production of such infringing copies shall be deemed to be the property of the owner, assignee or exclusive licensee, as the case may be, of the copyright, who accordingly may take proceedings for the recovery of the possession thereof or in respect of the conversion thereof.

Infringement Actionable as a Breach of Statutory Duty

17.—(1) An infringement of the rights conferred by section 9 and 11 of this Act is actionable as a breach of statutory duty owed to the person entitled to the right.

(2) In proceedings for infringement of the rights conferred by the said section 9 and 11 of this Act, the person whose rights have been infringed shall be entitled to an award of damages, injunction and any other remedies as the court may deem fit to award in the circumstances.

Criminal Liability

18.—(1) Any person who—

(a) makes or causes to be made for sale, hire, or for the purposes of trade or business any infringing copy of a work in which copyright subsists; or

(b) imports or causes to be imported into Nigeria a copy of any work which if it had been made in Nigeria would be an infringing copy, or

(c) makes, causes to be made, or has in his possession, any plate, master tape, machine, equipment or contrivance for the purposes of making any infringing copy of any such work;

shall, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know and had no reason to believe that any such copy was an infringing copy of any such work, or that such plate, master tape, machine, equipment or contrivance was not for the purpose of making infringing copies of any such work, be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding N1,000 for every copy dealt with in contravention of this section or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) Any person who—

(a) sells or lets for hire or for the purposes of trade or business, exposes or offers for sale or hires any infringing copy of any work in which copyright subsists; or

(b) distributes for the purposes of trade or business any infringing copy of any such work; or

(c) has in his possession other than for his private or domestic use, any infringing copy of any such work;

(d) has in his possession, sells, lets for hire or distribution for the purposes of trade or business or exposes or offers for sale or hire any copy of a work which if it had been made in Nigeria would be an infringing copy,

shall, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know and had no reason to believe that any such copy was an infringing copy of any such work, be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N100 for every copy dealt with in contravention of this section, or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years or in the case of an individual to both such fine and imprisonment.

(3) Any person who, without the consent of the owner, distributes, in public for commercial purposes, copies of a work in which copyright subsists by virtue of sections 5(1)(a)(vi), 5(1)(c)(iv), 6(1)(b) or 7(1)(c) of this Act by way of rental, lease, hire, loan or similar arrangement, shall be, guilty of an offence under this Act, and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine of N 100 for every copy dealt with or imprisonment for six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(4) The court before which any proceedings are taken for any offence under subsections (1), (2) and (3) of this section, whether the alleged offender is convicted or not, may order all copies of the works, plates, master tapes, machines, equipment and contrivances in the possession of the alleged offender, which appear, to be infringing copies, of the works, to be destroyed or delivered up to the owner of the copyright or otherwise dealt with as the court may think fit.

(5) Where an article has been seized by a police officer or an authorised officer in connection with a suspected offence under this Act, a court may on the application of the Attorney-General of the Federation or owner of the copyright in connection with which such offence is suspected to have been committed, order that the article be destroyed or delivered up to the owner of the copyright or otherwise dealt with as the court may think fit, notwithstanding that no person has been charged with the suspected offence.

Anti-Piracy Measures

18A.—(1) The Commission shall have powers, with the consent of the Minister, to prescribe any design, label, mark, impression or any other anti-piracy device for use on, in, or in connection with any work in which copyright subsists.

(2) Any person who—

(a) sells, rents, hires or

(b) offers for sale, rent or hire,

any work in contravention of the prescription made pursuant to subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(3) Any person who without the permission of the Commission—

(a) imports into Nigeria; or

(b) has in his possession,

any anti-piracy device prescribed under this section or any machine, instrument or other contrivance intended for use in the production of the antipiracy device, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N500,000 or imprisonment, for a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(4) Any person who without the permission of the Commission—

(a) is in possession of; or

(b) reproduces; or

(c) counterfeits,

any anti-piracy device prescribed under this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N50,000 or imprisonment to a term not exceeding 5 years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(5) The Commission shall have power, with the consent of the Minister, to make regulations specifying the conditions necessary to give effect to the purpose of this section.

Offence by Bodies Corporate

19.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate, the body corporate and every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, or was responsible to the body corporate for the conduct of the business of the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this subsection shall render any person liable to any punishment, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1) of this section, where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and it is proved that the offence was committed with the consent or connivance of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate such director, manager, secretary or other Officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

“body corporate” includes a firm or other association of persons; and “director” in relation to a firm includes a partner in the firm.

Penalties for Making False Entries

20. Any person who—

(a) fails to keep a register required under section 13 of this Act; or

(b) makes or causes to be made a false entry in such register; or

(c) produces or tenders, or causes to be produced or tendered as evidence any such entry or writing knowing the same to be false,

shall be guilty of an offence under this section and be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N10,000.

Civil Criminal Actions May Be Simultaneous

21. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, it shall be permissible for both criminal and civil actions to be taken simultaneously in respect of the same infringement under this Act.

Order for Inspection and Seizure

22.—(1) In any action for infringement of any right under this Act, where an ex parte application is made to the court, supported by affidavit, that there is reasonable cause for suspecting that there is in any house or premises any infringing copy or any plate, film or contrivance used or intended to be used for making infringing copies or capable of being used for the purpose of making copies or any other article, book or document by means of or in relation to which any infringement under this Act has been committed, the court may issue an order upon such terms as it deems just, authorising the applicant to enter the house or premises at any reasonable time by day or night accompanied by a police officer not below the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police, and

(a) seize, detain and preserve any such infringing copy or contrivance;

(b) inspect all or any documents in the custody or under the control of the defendant relating to the action.

(2) Any person who knowingly gives false information under this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N1,000.

Part II
Neighbouring Rights

Performer’s Right

23.—(1) A performer shall have the exclusive right to control, in relation to his performance, the following acts, that is—

(a) performing;

(b) recording;

(c) broadcasting live;

(d) reproducing in any material form; and

(e) adaptation of the performance.

(2) In this section, “performance” includes—

(a) a dramatic performance (which includes dance and mime);

(b) a musical performance; and

(c) a reading or recitation of literary act or any similar presentation which is or so far as it is, a live performance given by one or more individuals.

Duration of Performer’s Right

24. The right conferred by section 23 of this Act shall subsist in relation to the performance until the end of the period of fifty years from the end of the year in which the performance first took place.

Infringement of Performer’s Right

25. A performer’s right is infringed by a person who, without the performer’s consent or authorisation in writing, does any of the following, that is—

(a) makes a recording of the whole or substantial part of a live performance:

Provided that where the consent sought is to make a recording of the work for research, private or domestic use, such consent shall not be unreasonably refused;

(b) broadcasts live, or includes live in a cable programme, the whole or a substantial part of the live performance;

(c) performs in public the whole or a substantial part of the performance;

(d) shows or plays in public the whole or a substantial part of the performance for commercial purposes;

(e) broadcasts, or includes in a cable programme, a substantial part of the performance by means of recording which is, and which that person knows or has reason to believe was made without the performer’s consent;

(f) imports into the country otherwise than for his private or domestic use, a recording of a performer’s work which is an infringing recording; or

(g) in the course of trade or business, sells or lets for hire, offers, distributes or displays for sale or hire a recording of a performer’s work which is an infringing recording.

Infringement of a Performer’s Right Actionable

26.—(1) An infringement of a right protected under section 23 of this Act shall be actionable by the person entitled to the right as a breach of statutory duty and the performer shall be entitled to damages, injunction, account for profit or conversion.

(2) Where a person has in his possession, custody or control, in the course of trade or business or otherwise than for a private or domestic use, an unauthorized recording of a performance, a person having the performer’s right or recording rights in relation to the performance under this section shall be entitled to an order of the court that the recording be forfeited and delivered up to him.

Criminal Liability in Respect of Infringement of Performer’s Right

27.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 25 of this Act, a person who does any of the acts set out in the said section 25 shall, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know that his conduct was an infringement of the performer’s right, be liable on conviction—

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding N10,000;

(b) in the case of a body corporate, to a fine of N50,000;

(c) in all other cases, to a fine of N100 for each copy dealt with in contravention or to imprisonment for twelve months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) A court before which an offence under this section is tried shall order that the recording or any other part thereof be delivered to the performer.

Protection of Expressions of Folklore

28.—(1) Expressions of folklore are protected against—

(a) reproduction;

(b) communication to the public by performance, broadcasting, distribution by cable or other means;

(c) adaptations, translations and other transformations,

when such expressions are made either for commercial purposes or outside their traditional or customary context.

(2) The right conferred in subsection (1) of this section shall not include the right to control—

(a) the doing of any of the acts by way of fair dealing for private and domestic use, subject to the condition that, if the use is public, it shall be accompanied by an acknowledgment of the title of the work and its source;

(b) the utilisation for purposes of education;

(c) utilisation by way of illustration in an original work of an author:

Provided that the extent of such utilisation is compatible with fair practice;

(d) the borrowing of expressions of folklore for creating an original work of an author:

Provided that the extent of such utilisation is compatible with fair practice;

(e) the incidental utilisation of expressions of folklore.

(3) In all printed publications, and in connection with any communications to the public, of any identifiable expression of folklore, its source shall be indicated in an appropriate manner, and in conformity with fair practice, by mentioning the community or place from where the expression utilised has been derived.

(4) The right to authorise acts referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall vest in the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

(5) For the purpose of this section, “folklore” means a group-oriented and tradition-based creation of groups or individuals reflecting the expectation of the community as an adequate expression of its cultural and social identity, its standards and values as transmitted orally, by imitation or by other means including—

(a) folklore, folk poetry, and folk riddles;

(b) folk songs and instrumental folk music;

(c) folk dances and folk plays;

(d) productions of folk arts in particular, drawings, paintings, carvings, sculptures, pottery, terracotta, mosaic, woodwork, metalware, jewelry, handicrafts, costumes, and indigenous textiles.

Infringement of Folklore

29. Any person who, without the consent of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, uses an expression of folklore in a manner not permitted by section 28 of this Act shall be in breach of statutory duty and be liable to the Commission in damages, injunctions and any other remedies as the court may deem fit to award in the circumstances.

Criminal Liability in Respect of Infringement of Folklore

29A.—(1) Any person who—

(a) does any of the acts set out in section 28 of this Act without the consent or authorisation of the Commission; or

(b) does not comply with the requirement in subsection (4) of section 28 of this Act; or

(c) willfully misrepresents the source of an expression of folklore; or

(d) willfully distorts an expression of folklore in a manner prejudicial to the honour, dignity or cultural interests of the community in which it originates,

commits an offence under this Act.

(2) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) of this section is liable on conviction—

(a) in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding N100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of 12 months or to both such fine and imprisonment; and

(b) in the case of a body corporate, to a fine of N500,000.

(3) A court before which an offence under this section is tried may order that the infringing or offending article be delivered to the Commission.

Part III
Administration of Copyright

Establishment of the Nigerian Copyright Commission

30.—(1) There is hereby established a body to be known as the Nigerian Copyright Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission).

(2) The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(3) The Commission shall—

(a) be responsible for all matters affecting copyright in Nigeria as provided for in this Act;

(b) monitor and supervise Nigeria’s position in relation to international conventions and advise Government thereon;

(c) advise and regulate conditions for the conclusion of bilateral and multilateral agreements between Nigeria and any other country;

(d) enlighten and inform the public on matters relating to copyright;

(e) maintain an effective data bank on authors and their works;

(f) be responsible for such other matters as relate to copyright in Nigeria as the Minister may, from time to time, direct.

Copyright Licensing Panel

30A.—(a) The Commission shall have the power to grant compulsory licences in accordance with the provisions of the Fourth Schedule to this Act.

(b) In exercise of its powers under subsection (1) of this section the Commission shall in any case in which an application is made to it constitute a copyright Licensing Panel (in this section referred to as “the Panel”).

(c) The Panel shall consist of five persons at least three of whom shall be members of the Governing Board of the Commission and one of whom shall be designated as the chairman.

(d) A person shall not be appointed as a member of the Panel if he has any interest in any matter which is required to be determined by the Panel.

(e) The Commission may make regulations providing for the procedure of the Panel under the Fourth Schedule to this Act and providing generally for the execution of the functions of the Panel.

(f) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Panel shall have a right of appeal to the Federal High Court.

Establishment, Membership and Functions of the Governing Board

31.—(1) The Commission shall have a governing board (hereinafter referred to as “the Board”) which shall consist of the following members—

(a) a Chairman, who shall be a person knowledgeable in copyright matters, to be appointed by the Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the recommendation of the Minister;

(b) the Director-General of the Commission;

(c) one representative of the Federal Ministry of Justice;

(d) one representative of the Federal Ministry Education;

(e) one representative of the Nigeria Police Force, not below the rank of a Commissioner of Police;

(f) one representative of the Nigeria Customs Service, not below the rank of a Comptroller of Customs;

(g) six other persons to be appointed by the Minister who shall represent as far as possible the authors in the following areas—

(i) literary works;

(ii) artistic works;

(iii) musical works;

(iv) cinematograph films;

(v) sound recordings; and

(vi) broadcasts.

(2) The representatives of the Ministries shall be officers not below the rank of a Director.

(3) The Board shall adopt rules governing its procedure and method of operation.

Appointment of the Director-General and Other Staff of the Commission

32.—(1) There shall be for the Commission a Director-General who shall be the Chief Executive and shall be appointed by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the recommendation of the Minister.

(2) The Director-General shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Commission.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Commission shall have power—

(a) to appoint such other staff as it may determine;

(b) to pay its staff such remuneration and allowances as it may, from time to time, determine;

(c) as regards any staff in whose case it decides so to do, to pay to or in respect of such staff such pensions and gratuities as are payable to persons of equivalent grade in the public service of the Federation.

(4) It is hereby declared that service in the Commission shall be approved service for the purposes of the Pensions Act,² and accordingly, officers and other persons employed in the Commission shall be entitled to pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits as are prescribed thereunder, so however that nothing in this section shall prevent the appointment of a person to any office on terms which preclude the grant of a pension and gratuity or any other retirement benefit in respect of that office.

(5) For the purpose of the application of the provisions of the Pension Act, any power exercisable thereunder by a Minister or other authority (not being a power to make regulations under section 23 thereof) are hereby vested in and exercisable by the Commission.

Copyright Inspectors

32A.—(1) The Commission may appoint copyright inspectors as it may deem fit.

(2) A copyright inspector shall for the purposes of this Act have the power—

(a) to enter, inspect and examine at any reasonable time any building or premises which he reasonably suspects is being used for any activity which is an infringement of copyright under this Act;

(b) to arrest any person who he reasonably believes to have committed any contrivances: or any other device used or capable of being used to infringe copyright in a work.

Part IV
Miscellaneous

Reciprocal Extension of Protection

33. Where any country is a party to a treaty or other international agreement to which Nigeria is also a party and the Minister is satisfied that the country in question provides for protection of copyright in works which are protected under this Act, the Minister may by Order in the Federal Gazette extend the application of this Act in respect of any or all of the works referred to in section 1(1) of this Act—

(a) to individuals who are citizens of or domiciled in that country;

(b) to bodies corporate established by or under the law of that country;

(c) to works, other than sound recordings and broadcasts, first published in that country; and

(d) to broadcast and sound recordings made in that country.

Admission of Affidavit Evidence

34.—(1) An affidavit made before a Commissioner for Oaths, notary public or other person competent to administer an oath in terms of the law of the country where the oath is made which—

(a) purports to have been made by or on behalf of the owner of the copyright in a work; and

(b) states that—

(i) at the time specified therein, copyright subsists in the work;

(ii) the person named therein is the owner of the copyright in the work;

(iii) a copy of the work exhibited to the affidavit is a true copy of the work;

(iv) the author of the work is a citizen of or domiciled in a country named in the affidavit;

(v) the author of the work is a body corporate established or incorporated by or under the laws of the country named in the affidavit;

(vi) the work was first made or published in the country named in the affidavit;

(vii) the certificate attached to the affidavit is a true copy of the certificate of registration of that incorporation,

shall be admitted as evidence of the facts stated therein without further proof in any proceedings under this Act.

(2) The court before which an affidavit is produced under subsection (1) of this section shall presume, until the contrary is proved, that the statements made therein are true.

Presumption

35. In any action for an infringement of copyright in a work, the following shall be presumed, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary—

(a) that copyright subsists in a work which is the subject matter of an alleged infringement;

(b) that the plaintiff is the owner of copyright in the work;

(c) that the name appearing on a work purporting to be the name of the author, is the name of such author;

(d) that the name appearing on a work purporting to be that of the publisher or producer of a work is the name of such publisher or producer;

(e) where the author is dead, that the work is an original work;

(f) that it was published or produced at the place and on the date appearing on the work.

Restriction on Importation of Printed Copies

36.—(1) The owner of the copyright in any published literary, artistic or musical work or sound recording, may give notice in writing to the Department of Customs and Excise (in this section referred to as “the Department”)—

(a) that he is the owner of the copyright in the work; and

(b) that he requests the Department during the period specified in the notice, to treat as prohibited goods, copies of the work to which this section applies:

Provided that the period specified in a notice under this subsection shall not exceed five years and shall not extend beyond the end of the period for which the copyright is to subsist.

(2) This section applies, in the case of a work, to any printed copy made outside Nigeria which if it had been made in Nigeria, would be an infringing copy of the work.

(3) Where a notice has been given under this section in respect of a work and has not been withdrawn, the importation into Nigeria, at a time before the end of the period specified in the notice, of any copy of the work to which this section applies shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be prohibited:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to the importation of any article by a person for his private and domestic use.

(4) Where a notice is given under subsection (1) of this section in respect of any work, neither the Department nor any member, officer, servant or agent of the Department shall be liable to the owner of the work or to any other person for any act or omission by the Department or its servants or agents in relation to the notice:

Provided that, where the owner has suffered loss as a result of any such act or omission and a fee has been paid or is payable to the Department in respect of the notice, an amount equal to the loss or to the amount of the fee for one year, which ever is less, shall be repaid by the Department to the owner or, if the fee has not been paid, shall be waived.

(5) The Minister of Internal Affairs may make regulations prescribing the form in which notices are to be given under this section, and requiring a person giving such a notice, either at the time of giving the notice or at the time when the goods in question are imported, or at both of those times, to furnish the Department with such evidence, and to comply with such other conditions (if any), as may be specified in the regulations; and any such regulations may include such incidental and supplementary provisions as the Minister of Internal Affairs considers expedient for the purposes of this section.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (5) of this section, regulations made under that subsection may include provision for requiring a person who has given a notice purporting to be a notice under this section to pay such fees in respect of the notice as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(7) For the purposes of the Customs and Excise Management Act³ any fees paid in pursuance of any regulations made under this section shall be treated as money collected on account of the Department.

(8) Notwithstanding anything in the Customs and Excise Management Act, a person shall not be liable to any penalty under that Act (other than forfeiture of the goods) by reason that any goods are treated as prohibited goods by virtue of this section.

(9) This section shall have effect as if it formed part of the Customs and Excise Management Act.

Regulations

37.—(1) Where no other provision is made in that behalf, the Minister may make Regulations prescribing anything required to be prescribed for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Regulations may be made—

(a) in the case of works, the copyright in which is vested in the Government, by the Minister with the prior consent of the National Council of Ministers; and

(b) in the case of works, the copyright in which is vested in a State authority, by the State Authority or a person designated by the State authority, prescribing the public officer or other authority by whom licences may be granted for the reproduction of the works in question and a scale of fees to be charged in respect of any such licence.

(3) Regulations made under subsection (2) of this section, shall be additional to and not in derogation of any enactment or other law regulating the custody of the National Archives of Nigeria or the public records of a State, and shall be without prejudice to the operation of section 11(2) of this Act.

(4) The Commission shall, with the consent of the Minister, have power to make regulations specifying the conditions necessary for the operation of a business involving the production, public exhibition, hiring or rental of any work in which copyright subsists under this Act.

Jurisdiction

38. The Federal High Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction for the trial of offenses or disputes under this Act.

Limitation on Suit against the Commission, etc.

38A.—(1) Notwithstanding anything in any other enactment, no suit against the Commission, a member or any staff of the Commission, for an act done—

(a) in pursuance or execution of his duties under this Act or any other enactment or law; or

(b) in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the execution of this Act or any other enactment, shall lie or be instituted in any court unless the suit is commenced within twelve months next after the act, neglect or default complained of or where the damage or injury continues within twelve months next after the damage or injury ceases.

(2) No suit shall be commenced against the Commission or any member of staff of the Commission before the expiration of a period of three months after written notice of intention to commence the suit is served upon the Commission by the intending plaintiff or his agent.

(3) The notice referred to in subsection (2) of this section shall clearly state the cause of action, the particulars of the claim, the name and place of abode of the intending plaintiff and the relief which he claims.

Service of Document

38B. A notice, summons, or other document required or authorised to be served upon the Commission under the provisions of this Act or any other enactment or law may be served by delivering the same to the Director-General of the Commission or by sending it by registered post addressed to the Director-General at the office of the Commission.

Restriction on Execution against the Property of the Commission

38C.—(1) In any action, or suit against the Commission, no execution or attachment or process in the nature thereof shall be issued against the Commission.

(2) Any sum of money which is by judgment of a court awarded against the Commission shall, subject to any direction given by the court where notice of, appeal has been given by the Commission in respect of the judgment, be paid by the Commission from its general fund.

Power of the Minister to Give Directives

38D. The Minister may give to the Commission directives of a general or special character with respect to any of the functions of the Commission under this Act and it shall be the duty of the Commission to comply with such directives.

Interpretation

39.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“adaptation” means the modification of a pre-existing work from one genre of work to another and consists in altering work within the same genre to make it suitable for different conditions of exploitation, and may also involve altering the composition of the work;

“artistic work” includes, irrespective of artistic quality, any of the following works or works similar thereto—

(a) paintings, drawings, etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, engravings and prints;

(b) maps, plans and diagrams;

(c) works of sculpture;

(d) photographs not comprised in a cinematograph film;

(e) works of architecture in the form of buildings models; and

(f) works of artistic craftsmanship and also (subject to section 1(3) of this Act) pictorial woven tissues and articles of applied handicraft and industrial art;

“author” in the case of cinematograph film means the person by whom the arrangements for the making of the film were made, unless the parties to the making of the film, provide otherwise by contract between themselves;

“author” in the case of literary, artistic or musical works, means the creator of the work;

“author” in the case of a photographic work, means the person who took the photograph;

“author” in the case of sound recording, means the person by whom the arrangements for the making of the sound recording were made, except that in the case of a sound recording of a musical work, “author” means the artist in whose name the recording was made, unless in either case the parties to the making of the sound recording, provide otherwise by contract;

“author” in the case of a broadcast transmitted from within any country, means the person by whom the arrangements for the making or the transmission from within that country were undertaken;

“broadcast” means sound or television broadcast by wireless telegraphy or wire or both, or by satellite or cable programmes and includes re-broadcast;

“broadcasting authority” means any authority established under any law in Nigeria or elsewhere providing broadcasting services for public reception;

“building” includes any structure;

“cable programmes” means visual images, sounds or other information sent by means of a telecommunication system otherwise than by wireless telegraphy for reception—

(a) two or more places (whereas for simultaneous reception, or at different times) in response to request by different users; or

(b) for presentation to members of the public;

“choreographic work” means a composition of movements for dancing or any other patterned succession of gestures mostly created to accompanying music;

“cinematograph film” includes the first fixation of a sequence of visual images capable of being shown as a moving picture and of being the subject of reproduction, and includes the recording of a sound track associated with the cinematograph film;

“communication to the public” includes, in addition to any live performance or delivery, any mode of visual or acoustic presentation, but does not include a broadcast or re-broadcast;

“computer programme” means a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result;

“copy” means a reproduction in written form, in the form of a recording or cinematograph film, or in any other material form, so however that an object shall not be taken to be a copy of an architectural work unless the object is a building or model;

“copyright” means copyright under this Act;

“court” means the Federal High Court;

“exclusive licence” means a licence signed by or on behalf of a copyright owner, authorising the licensee to the exclusion of all other persons (including the person granting the licence), to exercise any right which would otherwise be exercisable exclusively by the copyright owner;

“licence” means a lawfully granted licence permitting the doing of an act controlled by this Act;

“literary work” includes, irrespective of literary quality, any of the following works or works similar thereto—

(a) novels, stories and poetical works;

(b) plays, stage directions, film scenarios and broadcasting scripts;

(c) choreographic works;

(d) computer programmes;

(e) text-books, treaties, histories, biographies, essays and articles;

(f) encyclopaedias, dictionaries, directories and anthologies;

(g) letters, reports and memoranda;

(h) lectures, addresses and sermons;

(i) law reports, excluding decisions of courts;

(j) written tables or compilations;

“Minister” means the Minister charged with responsibility for culture;

“musical work” means any musical composition, irrespective of musical quality and includes works composed for musical accompaniment;

“re-broadcast” means a simultaneous or subsequent broadcast by one broadcasting authority of the broadcast of another broadcasting authority;

“reproduction” means the making of one or more copies of a literary, musical or artistic work, cinematograph film or sound recording;

“sound recording” means the first fixation of a sequence of sound capable of being perceived aurally and of being reproduced but does not include a sound track associated with a cinematograph film;

“State authority”, in relation to a State, means the Military Governor or Governor, as the case may be, or other governmental authority of a State;

“work” includes translations, adaptation, new versions or arrangements of preexisting works, and anthologies or collection of works which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of their content, present an original character;

“work of joint authorship” means a work produced by the collaborator of two or more authors in which the contribution of each author is inseparable from the contribution of the other author or authors;

“year” means—

(a) in section 36 of this Act, a period of twelve months; and

(b) elsewhere in this Act, a calendar year, that is to say, a period of twelve months beginning on 1st January and ending on 31st December.

(2) The following provisions shall apply with respect to publication, that is to say—

(a) a work shall be deemed to have been published if copies of it have been made available in a manner sufficient to render the work accessible to the public;

(b) where in the first instance, a part only of a work is published, that part, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as a separate work;

(c) a publication in any country shall not be treated as being other than the first publication by reason only of an earlier publication elsewhere if the two publications took place within a period of not more than thirty days.

Repeals and Transitional, etc. Provisions

40.—(1) The Copyright Act 1970⁴ is hereby repealed.

(2) Sections 491, 492 and 493 of the First Schedule to the Criminal Code Act⁵ are hereby repealed.

(3) The transitional and saving provisions in the Fifth Schedule to this Act shall have effect notwithstanding sub-section (1) of this section or any other provisions of this Act.

Short Title

41. This Act may be cited as the Copyright Act.

FIRST SCHEDULE⁶

Terms of Copyright

SECOND SCHEDULE⁷

Exceptions from Copyright Control

The right conferred in respect of a work by section 5 of this Act does not include the right to control—

(a) the doing of any of the acts mentioned in the said section 5 by way of fair dealing for purposes of research, private use, criticism or review or the reporting of current events, subject to the condition that, if the use is public, it shall be accompanied by an acknowledgment of the title of the work and its authorship, except where the work is incidentally included in a broadcast;

(b) the doing of any of the aforesaid acts by way of parody, pastiche, or caricature;

(c) the inclusion in a film or a broadcast of an artistic work situated in a place where it can be viewed by the public;

(d) the reproduction and distribution of copies of any artistic work permanently situated in a place where it can be viewed by the public;

(e) the incidental inclusion of an artistic work in a film or broadcast;

(f) the inclusion in a collection of literary or musical work which includes not more than two excerpts from the work, if the collection bears a statement that it is designed for educational use and includes an acknowledgment of the title and authorship of the work;

(g) the broadcasting of a work if the broadcast is approved by the broadcasting authority as an educational broadcast;

(h) any use made of a work in an approved educational institution for the educational purposes of that institution, subject to the condition that, if a reproduction is made for any such purpose it shall be destroyed before the end of the prescribed period, or if there is no prescribed period, before the end of the period of twelve months after it was made;

(i) subject to the Third Schedule to this Act, the making of a sound recording of a literary or musical work, and the reproduction of such a sound recording by the maker or under licence from him, where the copies thereof are intended for retail sale in Nigeria and the work has already been previously recorded under licence from the owner of the relevant part of the copyright whether in Nigeria or abroad, subject to such conditions and to the payment of such compensation as may be prescribed;

(j) the reading or recitation in public or in a broadcast by any person of any reasonable extract from a published literary work if accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment:

Provided that such reading or recitation is not for commercial purpose;

(k) any use made of a work by or under the direction or control of the Government, or by such public libraries, non-commercial documentation centres and scientific or other institutions as may be prescribed, where the use is in the public interest, no revenue is derived therefrom and no admission fee is charged for the communication, if any, to the public of the work so used;

(n( �/i> the reproduction of a work by or under the direction or control of a broadcasting authority where the reproduction or any copies thereof are intended exclusively for a lawful broadcast and are destroyed before the end of the period of six months immediately following the making of the reproduction or such longer period as may be agreed between the broadcasting authority and the owner of the relevant part of the copyright in the work, so however that any reproduction of a work made under this paragraph—