NAN-ELS-4
Copyright
Abuja, July 19, 2017 (NAN) A renowned poet, Ahmed Maiwada, has called on the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to go beyond confiscating pirated materials but to prosecute and jail those culpable to deter potential offenders.
Maiwada told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the commission had enormous powers to checkmate offenders and reduce the incidence of piracy in the country.
“In addition to powers to confiscate pirated materials; the commission can as also prosecute offenders.
“ I have never heard where the NCC prosecutes anybody its official had arrested in the past.
“Piracy is a crime; most time, NCC officials carry out raids, confiscate and destroy materials from offenders but do not prosecute them,’’ he said.
Maiwada, a lawyer and the author of: “We are fish’’, a collection of poems, also appealed to NCC to come up with regulations that would help maintain sanity in the book industry.
He said that that it was unethical for authors to publish books; give copies to bookshop owners to sell but the later would not remit proceeds from the sales to the authors or publishers.
“NCC should make it criminal for publishers and bookshop operators to sell and refuse to remit proceeds from the sales to the authors.
“NCC should also create a platform where it can receive complaints from publishers, authors, artists and investigate such with the aim of determining who is culpable.
“NCC has the powers to do all these; but it is not enforcing such powers and that is why piracy is still on the increase.
“It should be committed to the fight against piracy,’’ he said.
Maiwada who also wrote: “Fossils’’, “Eye Rhymes’’ and “Saint of a Woman’’ noted that the confiscation of pirated materials from offenders and just destructing them would not checkmate the menace.
He said that prosecution and imprisonment of offenders would allow writers and artists enjoy the fruits of their labour and boost revenue for the government.
NAN reports that NCC was established in August 1989 by the Copyright Decree No.47 of 1988 now codified as Copyright Act (CAP. C28, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).
Sequel to the copyright amendments of 1992 and 1999, the statutory mandate of the commission was expanded to include the administration, enforcement, protection, promotion and regulation of copyright in Nigeria. (NAN)
CMY/PAD
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Edited by Peter Dada