Copyright Registration in Nigeria
With Copyright Registration, You put an end to any infringement by protecting your work. Go on record as the copyright owner, and gain the ability to sue if someone uses your work without permission.
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Copyright is a set of ‘exclusive’ rights, giving creators the right to control the use of their work and the ability to earn from it.
Seeking to protect the creative works of authors, artistic works, songwriters, music publishers, cinematography films, photographers, and all rounds creative. The term ‘exclusive’ in copyright law means that the copyright owner has the right to exclude others from using his or her work without first getting permission.
Through the mechanism of copyright, creators’ efforts can be rewarded and that encourages the production of books, films, songs and other creative expressions. SplashDict can assist you in registering a copyright to protect your creative work, stay in control of how it's used, and take action against infringement.
What is a Copyright?
Copyright (or author’s right) is the right that creators have over their literary, artistic, and certain scientific works once those have been created and fixed on a tangible medium.
Copyright is the exclusive right granted by a statute to an author (i.e., an artist, writer, publisher, musician, performer, photographer, architect, filmmaker, and sculptor) of certain works to control the doing of some acts in relation to the work.
What does Copyright Protect?
Copyright protects original creations in the literary and artistic fields which are fixed in medium from which they can be reproduced, or otherwise communicated. Examples of works protected include;
- Literary works (novels, stories, poetical works, plays, computer programmes, letters, encyclopedias, law reports, etc).
- Artistic works ( paintings, drawings, maps, plans, woodcuts, works of architecture, sculpture, craftsmanship, etc).
- Musical works (musical notations and compositions);
- films;
- Sound recordings; and
- Broadcasts
Titles, ideas, concepts, procedures, methods or things of similar nature are not protected by Copyright.
Who benefits from Copyright protection?
Copyright ownership is first vested in the author, with the exception of work made by or under the direction or control of the Government, a State authority or a prescribed International body.
The creator of a copyright work, usually referred to as the “author” of the work owns the copyright in the work in the first instance. However, the author is at liberty to transfer his rights to a third party. In such a case, the person who has obtained the right by transfer or other legal means becomes the owner of copyright.
The rights which an author or copyright owner enjoys in a work include the right to be acknowledged in any use made of his work and also to prevent any derogatory use; alteration; distortion or mutilation of same (referred to as moral rights). More importantly, they enjoy the right to earn money from their works by determining the condition under which the work may be commercially used by a third party (economic rights).
An author can prohibit or authorize the following acts;
- The reproduction of the work in various forms such as printed publication, photocopying or making a recording in any media;
- The public performance of work such as staging a play in a theatre;
- The recording of work in the form of compact disks, cassettes, videotapes, etc;
- The broadcasting of the work by radio, cable or satellite;
- The translation of the work into other languages or its adaptation such as from a novel to a screenplay;
- The distribution of the work commercially by way of sales, hiring or rental.
Why register a copyright?
Protect your work
You can create confidently, knowing your work is protected against infringement.
Enhance your rights
Get official proof that you have the exclusive rights to your work, and the power to grant those rights to others.
Put an end to any infringement
Go on record as the copyright owner, and gain the ability to sue if someone uses your work without permission.
Types of Works that can be registered as a Copyright
Not all works can be copyrighted. Section 1 of the Act provides that the following listed works qualify for Copyright;
- Literary works;
- Musical works;
- Artistic works;
- Cinematograph films;
- Sound recordings and;
- Broadcast.
The above-listed works will not be eligible to be copyrighted except the following occurs;
- Sufficient effort was expended in making the work to give it its original character;
- The work has been fixed in a definite medium of expression that is now known or to be developed later from which it can be perceived either directly or with the aid of any machine;
- At the time the work was done, it was intended by the author to be used as a model or pattern to be multiplied by an industrial process.
Moreover, work will not also be eligible to be copyrighted by reason that the making of the work or the doing of any act about the work involved an infringement of copyright in some other work.
How long does copyright protection last?
The rights enjoyed by the owner of Copyright are limited. The duration of copyright protection depends on the category of work.
Copyright in literary, musical, and artistic works (excluding photographs) lasts for seventy years from the end of the year in which the author dies, and where the author is a government or a body corporate, 70 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.
Cinematograph films and photographs are protected by copyright for fifty years after the end of the year in which the work was first published. Copyright protection for broadcasts and sound recordings lasts for 50 years after the end of the year in which the broadcast or the recording was first published.
The work goes to the public domain when the term of protection expires and third parties are allowed free use.
How long does the registration process take?
Generally, applications are processed within 10 working days.
Criminal offences relating to copyright infringement in Nigeria;
Section 20 of the Act provides for the following criminal offences in relation to copyright infringement:
(a) making or causing to be made for sale, hire, or for the purposes of trade or business any infringing copy of a work in which copyright subsists;
(b) importing or causing to be imported into Nigeria a copy of any work which if it had been made in Nigeria would be an infringing copy;
(c) making, causing to be made, or having in one’s possession, any plate, master tape, machine, equipment or contrivance for the purposes of making any infringing copy of any such work;
(d) selling or letting for hire or for the purposes of trade or business, exposing or offering for sale or hire any infringing copy of any work in which copyright subsists;
(e) distributing for the purposes of trade or business any infringing copy of any such work;
(f) having in one’s possession, other than for private or domestic use, any infringing copy of any such work;
(g) having in his possession, selling, letting for hire or distribution for the purposes of trade or business; or
(h) exposing or offering for sale or hire any copy of a work which, if it had been made in Nigeria, would be an infringing copy.
What information do you need in order to register my Copyright?
After payment is made, you will be redirected to a page where you'll upload a scan of the logo, the name of the brand/trademark you intend to protect, and information about the line of business or type of service provided. We'll use this information to process your request.
What a registered copyright protects;
It Protects;
- Books
- Songs
- Photos
- Art
- Films
- Software
- And other creative work that's tangible (written, recorded, etc.)
It Doesn't protect
- Brand names and slogans; Try a trademark.
- Inventions and product designs; Consider a patent.
- Ideas only (not in a tangible form).
How Much is Copyright Registration in Nigeria?
We register Protected works under the Nigerian Copyright e-Registration System administered by the Nigerian Copyright Commission to provide evidence of the possible date of creation of the work and other facts stated in the application form in the event of a dispute.
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Why Choose Us?
Simple
Customers fill out a simple questionnaire, make a few certifications, and upload supporting documentation. Most users will spend less than 5 minutes on our site to complete the process.
Reliable
Founders can always rely on us to securely manage their confidential information—safe from any unauthorized and prying eyes.
