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New Copyright Act Will Reboot Nigeria’s Copyright System – D-G
The Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) Dr John Asein, says the new Copyright Act, 2022 will help the commission to reboot the nation’s copyright system to meet international standard.
Asein said this in Abuja yesterday at the Capacity Building for Young Lawyers, organised by the commission in collaboration with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Branch.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last Thursday signed the Copyright Bill in to law.
The Copyright Act, 2022 which repeals the Copyright Act, Cap C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, will provide for the regulation, protection and administration of copyright in Nigeria.
The director-general said that the provisions in the present Copyright Act would give the commission an opportunity to reboot the copyright system in the country.
According to him, this Act will now be in compliance with all the major treaties in copyright. The provisions of these treaties are now catered for under the new copyright Act.
“For instance, rights are clearly defined and exemptions are better articulated in a balance manner. The exemptions that will allow society to benefit from copyright works have also been well defined.
“We have addressed all the online abuses and challenges of the digital environment. So, this present Act addresses digital works.
“For instance, in the old law, copies were defined as material copies but the new Act is now defined in a way that it will allow even soft copies,” Commission chief said.
According to him, under the new copyright Act, the commission also has provisions for enforcement in the digital environment.
“For instance, when your work is being abused on the website, you can have that material dropped down from that website.
“So, we now have the power to bring down works. The benefits will begin to cascade to the different copyright fields.
“This is because people will now have safe corridor to exploit works in the digital environment online and they will have no fear that there will be uncontrolled abuse of those works.
“One good thing about enforcement in the new Copyright Act is that we now have sanctions that put more burden on any person who commits an offence now.”
Asein said that every sanction or punishment under the new Act was minimum, saying that it meant that a judge could choose to give maximum punishment depending on the peculiar circumstances of that offence or offender.
“Secondly, the commission has been given specific powers in terms of regulating not only on the production; we can regulate the sale, warehousing and other dealings in the copyright matters.
“This means that people who keep pirated books in the warehouses can also be regulated.
“There is also a new development when people bring in boxes and those boxes enable you to crack encoded signals of a broadcasting organisation,” he said.
According to him, the new Act also empowers the commission to regulate pirated boxes to prevent people from watching television channels illegally.
“This law now provides against the compromising of Technical Protection Measures (TPM).
“So, any TPM that comes in under the present Act is now protected. So, if you find such boxes, you can go after whoever is importing it.
“In fact, one of the things, the commission will be doing shortly is to declare such boxes to be illegal unless you have the approval of the commission to bring them in.”
Also, speaking, Mr Oluwatobiloba Moody, the Director, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said that the present Act would go a long way in addressing the issues of piracy and other intellectual property related issues in Nigeria.
Also, the Chairman of NBA, Abuja Branch, Mr Afam Okeke, said that the purpose of the training was to interface with young lawyers to get them well-grounded on the provisions of the Copyright Act and copyright system as well as general intellectual property field.
Okeke said the whole idea was to enhance their skills to begin to contribute and grow creative economy.
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.