Film industry stakeholders have been assured of the Commission’s disposition in leveraging the copyright system to create wealth for right owners and sustain the film ecosystem.
Director-General, Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Dr. John O. Asein, gave the assurance during a consultative visit of the Chairman, Audio Visual Rights Society, Mr. Mahmood Balogun, to the Commission’s Headquarters, Abuja, Abuja on Tuesday, 18th January 2022.
The Director-General reiterated the Commission’s commitment towards the growth of various sectors in the creative industry, adding that it would provide institutional, regulatory and political support for Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) in Nigeria. He stated that the consultative visit would be used to review the synergy between the NCC and the film industry to bridge gaps in order to meet global expectations.
In his address, the AVRS Chairman commended the NCC for its resilience and commitment towards improving the lot of the creative industry in view of the limited resources. He stated that the film industry was challenged in terms of lack of an existing structure, institutional support, lack of proper enlightenment and general apathy towards the Commission in the movie industry.
He noted that apathy towards the Commission in the movie industry was borne out of wrong orientation about its activities in terms of fighting piracy, enforcement of their rights when infringed and the slow pace of the judicial system when their rights is abused. He complained of people with parochial interest in the industry who assume the role of champions, doing things without any recourse to existing structures.
Mr. Balogun bemoaned the setting up of several institutions in the creative sector by the Government without any structure for sustenance due to knowledge gaps. He called for enabling laws by the National Assembly to give the AVRS the backing to work effectively in regulating the Actors Guild to the benefit of all stakeholders.
The AVRS chairman thanked the NCC for putting enabling laws in place to set up the CMOs while being optimistic that the reviewed Copyright Bill and the Copyright Levy Order, when passed, would address some of the challenges both for the Government, stakeholders and improve the dragnet of the industry in terms of benefits.
Responding, the DG, NCC said enlightenment was key and “there is need to engage to create the right atmosphere for positive synergy to thrive and redefine relevance”. He assured that the reviewed Copyright Bill, when passed, would serve as a catalyst to actualise the NCC’s agenda setting to put in place structures to provide institutional support for the AVRS and the Actors Guild.
The DG noted the need to interface closely with the young generation of right owners to know where they fit in and develop business models to optimise their output in the creative industry. The engagement, he noted, would be geared towards adding value towards what they already know to enable them take their ideas to a better market. To actualise these, he called for awareness training, with participants and resource persons drawn from institutions like DSTV, YouTube, Facebook, WIPO, Netflix and AMAZON which are regular points of interaction for the ‘next generation’.
Dr. Asein, commenting on the renewed synergy with AVRS said coordinating CMOs called for closer partnerships and support. “We must find the right models that work and design such to grow as a model for CMOs in Nigeria”, he stated, and added that the good of NCC would be the good of all.
Amos Abutu
For: Director-General
