Protecting Your Content Through Copyright – All You Need To Know

Introduction

Copyright is one of the most common intellectual property protections for creatives. If you have ever written a book, recorded a song, designed a logo, or developed a mobile app, then you should copyright what you have created. In Nigeria, copyright protection helps you protect your creative work and gives you the legal right to decide how it's used, shared, or monetized.

Although, artistic works are automatically protected the moment they are created, registering your copyright gives your work legal protection. The body in charge of copyright protection in Nigeria is the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). In this article, we will look at how all that is required to register your copyright in Nigeria.

What Is Copyright?

According to NCC, copyright is the exclusive right granted by a statute to an author (i.e., an artist, writer, publisher, musician, performer, photographer, architect, film maker, and sculptor) of certain works to control the doing of some acts in relation to the work.

What Does a Copyright Protect?

1. Literary works such as novels, stories, poetical works, plays, computer programmes, letters, encyclopaedias, law reports
2. Artistic works such as paintings, drawings, maps, plans, woodcuts, works of architecture, sculpture, craftsmanship, etc
3. Musical works (musical notations and compositions)
4. Audio visuals such as YouTube or other online videos
5. Sound recordings
6. Broadcasts

What Cannot be Protected through a Copyright?

1. Formats such as document templates
2. Ideas such as a movie idea
3. Concepts such as concept of a business model
4. Procedures
5. Methods of operation such as method of cooking nature
6. Processes such as a recipe
7. Systems such as the idea of an accounting system
8. Principles such as theories or scientific laws
9. Discoveries or mere data such as discovery of a new plant specie
10. Official texts of a legislative or administrative nature as well as any official translations such as government laws
11. Official state symbols and insignia such as flags, coat-of-arms, anthems, and banknote designs.

Why is it Important to Register a Copyright?

1. It serves as a proof of ownership
2. It makes your ownership visible and discourages others from stealing or copying your work.
3. It helps to strengthens your legal claim in the event of an infringement of your work
4. It helps to boost credibility and value for business owners and creators especially when seeking investors or partnerships.
5. It is an asset
6. It grants you the right to transfer your rights to a third part

Who Owns a Copyright?

Generally, the ownership of a copyright is vested in the author or creator of a work. However, there are situations where a work can be owned by a third party. Where such work is created during the course of the author's employment and the contracts states that ownership shall vest in the employer then that would be the case except otherwise agreed.

What are the rights of a Copyright Owner in Nigeria?

1. The right to make copies of the work
2. The right to sell or distribute copies of the work to the public
3. The right to perform or display the work in public
4. The right to assign or license the work
5. The right to prevent others from using the work

How do you Know When a Copyright has Been Infringed upon?

1. Publication of a work without consent of the owner
2. Selling and offering for sale any work without the owner's consent
3. Making or being in possession of devices such as plates, master tapes, machines for the sole purpose of making infringing copies of a work
4. Using of a space for the public performance of a work in a manner that infringes on the right of the owner. However, if the person that authorized the use of such place was not aware and had no reason to suspect that the performance would infringe on the right of the owner then it will not be considered an infringement
5. Reproduction of a copyright work without the owner's consent
6. Trading or carrying out business activities with a work that has copyright protection

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.