Professor Adejoke Oyewunmi, renowned Intellectual Property (IP) expert at the University of Lagos, discusses the complexities and opportunities in Nigeria’s copyright ecosystem including the role of technology and stakeholder engagement, in a candid conversation with Mary Avoswahi Adegbile.

Question: Ma, what is it like to teach Intellectual Property (IP), and how is the reception of Copyright among students? Is it a lucrative field of study?

Answer: My name is Adejoke Oyewunmi, I am a Professor of Intellectual Property (IP) Law, at the University of Lagos, Faculty of Law. I joined the faculty sometime in 1992 and back at that time the Management informed the two of us that were hired that they wanted to introduce two new courses: IP and Taxation. I opted for IP, and since then I have been developing at it and since I didn’t have the opportunity to study it at school, I had to read up on it: IP, Copyright, Industrial Property…32 going to 33 years, in the field of IP. I must say that over time my interest in the subject has continued to wax very strong.

I will tell you what happened to me about 2 to 3 years ago. We had a retreat for Lecturers in the Faculty and we invited some of our old students to come and interact with us about their experiences after school. The students informed that the only thing they now find relevant, that is making money and opening doors for them is IP. That some of the old courses are out of touch with contemporary development but for IP, probably because it has coincided with opening up of the digital platforms. As you know IP and Digitization go hand in hand, the creative sector is booming in Nigeria now, the entertainment industry is doing well, so much is going on and they find background in IP extremely useful and helpful to carve a niche for themselves in that area.

About a month ago, I was in Lagos for the graduation ceremony of The Purple Blue Academy, an Academy for music in its different dimensions, the DG-NCC was there and several other stakeholders. Dr. Osuji took a course including something in IP many years ago, he was with COSON for some time and was able to identify some of the gaps in the sector, that many people are talented but are not making money from their talent. What is going on ?  Why is it that somebody will be known all over the world and has nothing to show for it. We need to get our acts together in this sector now. Good to note that in the entertainment sector, especially music and the film industry we are doing very well but we are still far from being there. IP is a form of property, it should be like having assets, like you have houses or cars, it should be money in the bank, it should be collateral but unfortunately is not adding up. We have to ask ourselves critical questions. Why is the gap? Is it that the creatives are not good managers or that the law is inadequate?. Is it the implementation or is it that people are not aware or what exactly? where lies the problem?

 

Question: what will you blame for the economic instability being experienced by Nigerian Creatives, compared to most of their counterparts abroad?    

Answer: Well to be honest, I think it is a combination of factors. The way I see it, traditionally the creative industry especially the music, drama and others were not seen as a source of wealth creation as such as it served other purposes. It was seen as a way of passing on our values, our culture from one generation to another. So folklore for example, meaningful words captured in very appealing music just to drive home certain points. If you go into the history of Nigerian creative industry and especially the music industry, back then people did not event seek to appropriate the knowledge to themselves, to say this is my creation you can’t copy or you can’t use it, so somebody will start something and everybody else will just latch-on.

Maybe it would have been okay if we kind of use it to develop ourselves and to impact ourselves but the reality is that we now leave in a global environment and our music, our creativity is now on the global stage. If we don’t begin to see it as property, as something that can bring economic renaissance, that can help generate employment, that can help to promote the renowned of our country and become a source of promotion of tourism, of development of local industry and all that, if we don’t see it as such and manage it as such and guide it as such, things will continue this way. So there is a need for that awareness, for people to understand that this thing is business, it’s an industry.  It is not just about you the creator who stays all night recording songs or being inspired…

The Creatives are not good business managers. They need managers, those who are trained, who are skilled, who are knowledgeable in the area of management of creativity, but many times they don’t follow-up. They just want to be known, they just want to be heard. Some of them sign contract they don’t even read, they don’t take it to people who can help them to read it. The people writing the contract, who hold the stronger end of the stick that is like the publishers, the recording companies and so on, sometimes include very exploitative terms in the contract and we have seen quite a bit of that even in some of the cases.

So, this young guys just want to be known, it is when they start getting known that they now begin to wonder where all the money is going. I went to do this show, all the tickets sold out but how much did I take home, that is when they start asking questions and looking into the contract terms. They will be told, you signed this or is this not your contract. I have looked at contracts signed by people and am like, even if you are not a Lawyer you can read and write English, why did you sign this, look at what you signed and they will be like, they just said there are some papers to be signed. Sometimes they don’t even know the importance of doing that and usually people come to Lawyers when they are in trouble. Our people have not actually learnt that to avoid trouble, talk to your Lawyer first, let your lawyer look at what you want to sign.

It is when they have signed and things are bad that is when they bring it, then you look at what they have signed and you now start thinking of how you are going to get them out of that, either on the ground that it is an unfair contract, it is unconscionable, oppressive or whatever. You start looking for an equitable principle that can be used but if people will learn to do this upfront it will make things a lot easier and the NCC has an important role to play in this area.

You go after the pirates but the pirates are not the only problem in the chain. what about the Recording Companies, the Publishers and others? how are we facilitating the interaction and enlightenment of people to say look this is the right thing to do. There are countries with laws and provisions that even seek to manage that space, to say that the contract must not be unconscionable; it has to be fair because they recognize these things.

Question: How would you rate the creative industry’s growth and the potentials it holds?

Answer:  The growth has been phenomenal and the potential is almost endless and limitless because now the quality of minds that are going into the creative industry are young people who just want to finish school and go into the creative sector. Some of them we even have to pet them because their parents are going haywire already that this kid is not reading, he or she is singing. I have students in my law class who are artistes, creatives and because it is an IP class at the beginning I enlighten them on what Copyright is about and encourage them to express and explore their creative abilities.

We need to look at carrying out research in the area using quantitative and qualitative methodology to interact with the population of the study to ascertain what the areas of interest are. You find out that very many people are interested in the creative industry, some are there already and some want to go there. Some time ago when I looked at the statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), I found that the creative sector is a fast growing sector, every quarter you see that it is increasing in terms of its potential not just to improve the GDP but also employment. If you check what we have now, compare it to what we have two years ago, then what we have 5 and 10 years ago, you will get the answer to the question.

Question: As a major stakeholder in the creative sector, what is your take on the efforts of the Commission at strengthening and sanitizing the creative industry.

Answer: The Copyright Commission is one Agency I have seen that really engage with stakeholders. Personally I have been involved in some programmes of the Commission over time, you will hear there is something for the Judiciary, there is something for the Music sector, there is some for the Visual Artists. There was a time ago in Lagos they said it was something for Photographers and others, all managed by the Commission. I must commend NCC but you know teachers are critics and when I start saying you need to do this and that it is because no matter what you have done we still see areas where more need to be done.

I use to tell my students that post-independence we had our first indigenous Copyright Act in 1970 and we had another one in 1988 and it was amended in 1992, further amended in 1998 and now we have a new one. As technology is evolving somehow the NCC has been finding creative ways of going about it through orders, regulations and so on just to ensure that the gaps are filled, that says a lot.

Question: Piracy is one of the major challenges of the creative industry, what are some of the creative ways the Commission can tackle piracy, especially  in this digital era?.

Answer: The NCC is already tackling it through this Copyright Act of 2022, because when you look at the provisions of the Act, they target not just physical piracy but online piracy. The Act that was repealed defines Communication to the public for example as communication through the use of loud speakers and other means, you can imagine that, who is talking about that in this era. Now we have a law that recognises that communication can be physical or virtual. it recognizes the role of Technology even in tackling piracy so that we have a combination of law and technology to fight piracy. I want to commend the NCC for updating the Law.

Question: How do you think the Commission will get stakeholders to take proper responsibility in the fight against piracy? 

Answer: It is like having a child that could easily be exploited, you want to protect that child, you want to make sure that child is okay and sometimes if you are not careful you can become over protective that they would not learn to stand up for themselves. It gets to a point where you want the child to stand up and say don’t do that, it is not okay to do that and if that is not happening we also have to ask ourselves some questions.

Some time ago we were having a work shop and somebody asked that why is it that action has to be instituted by the Copyright Commission, what about the right holder? But again we have to understand the peculiarity of the sector, earlier I said many artists may have a name, reputation but doesn’t translate to money in the pocket. Litigation is not cheap, law enforcement is not cheap, enforcement of rights is not cheap and that is one challenge. But we can also say it is also a vicious circle because if you don’t stand up to protect your rights, your property,  people will continue to take advantage of you and you will be getting poorer so you have to invest in safeguarding your property such that once people even know that you are not going to take it lying low, they will say, this one is a trouble, let’s stay away.

Every time I have the opportunity to interact with stakeholders, I tell them, you dont even need to fight this as individuals, there is power in collective groups. you can fight it together. The NCC is involved in a WIPO project in which am also participating as an expert for operators in the Tie and Dye, Adire industry. I say to them you need to register your trademarks, register your rights… if we keep quiet or it is only one person talking, everybody will go down so I talk about individual right holders, I talk about groups coming together, they need to find their voice and speak up, this is the era of speaking up. speak out.

There are different ways of promoting a culture of respect for Intellectual Property, there are diverse ways: preventive, preemptive, responsive so it should be tackled from every dimension and as stakeholders they should take charge. Before it gets to NCC or any other, let the right holders themselves make some noise and say this is not acceptable. Some time you call people out, it is not every time a matter has to get to court before it is resolved, sometime you call them out, you write cease and desist. It is only the unrepentant ones that will end up going to court.

Question: How involved are Women in the area of IP Management, how are women faring in that field? 

Answer: A lot of them are coming up now and I am happy to see that, but when you look at the different sectors, how many women do you see in Music Management, I met one or two at the Purple Blue Academy, programme in Lagos and I was happy but am just saying that the field is just almost totally dominated by the men, why? The Film industry had Amaka Igwe, an icon who died some time ago. They are right holders, record label but there are also double as Managers and when you have few more like that out there it inspires other women. When you check a field and can’t see anyone like you, somehow you might just go away thinking this is not your place, let me go and look for where I can find my type. So I think it needs just a few gifted women who have had the opportunity of education.

I am in IP, when I went to the University to apply for a job I did not go with the intention of teaching because I hadn’t even done it but my HOD then was the pioneer Chairman of the Copyright Commission and he said I cannot be Copyright Commission Chairman and in my own Faculty they are not teaching IP and he gave me a semester to get relevant books from the library and share what I find. I taught for a few years and then we had a conference here in Abuja and I was one of the women then, the DG was there too, we were all starting at that time and after that came an opportunity of a scholarship to go on a Master’s Programme. Some of the men felt they were already Lecturers with years’ experience, how can they go and do another Masters. As a woman I was happy and accepted that opportunity, I said if I do it and I find out that what they are teaching me I already know, it will give me confidence, if I do it and find out that there is a lot I don’t know I will still benefit because I will know more.

Question: There is this notion, gaining ground in the country that you have to be a lawyer to be actively involved in IP and Copyright Management and administration. Prof, how true is this?

Answer: It is just sad, I feel sad when I hear that. I told you that when I came back in year 2000 and I said lets teach this to Engineering students, Business Administration students, Science Students, Arts Students because IP has a value chain that starts from the creators, inventors, innovators; to the management of IP; to the protection, enforcement. If you are teaching only those who are lawyers who have more to do with enforcement what are they going to enforce, what are they going to protect when the creators have not been shown that what you are doing can become valuable property, you can get Copyright for your creative works, Patent for you inventions and all that.

I found myself in an IP class in the US and I was one of about five Lawyers in a class of more than twenty, a Master’s class. We had a Medical Doctor, Pharmacists, Engineers and others all coming to learn different aspects of IP. When an engineer comes up with something new in the engineering field and they want to get a Patent and I want to write the patent specification as a lawyer from another background, it is always not easy and I end up telling them to describe what has been done and I try to capture it in writing but if it is an engineer or a another scientist who has a knowledge of IP they will be able to do it easily, that is it.

IP is one area that is multi-disciplinary. The thing that makes me happy now is that we have this mandatory entrepreneurship class, because of the increasing unemployment. Before students graduate from school they have to go through some mandatory courses so we designed an IP curriculum to fit into that programme and every student has to do it before they graduate. We made sure that an IP curriculum was designed so that even if it is that one or two classes of IP, they will get to know that there is something like that and can pick it up in the future and that is just to show the importance of a holistic approach.

It is really sad to focus only on certain groups. Now I have been teaching and churning out Lawyers, IP Lawyers for 32 years. Am I going to be happy if my students begin to ask where are the clients or are fighting over a few International Trademark owners who want to register trademarks, is that what it is all about? What about our own creativity and innovation?

Am just happy that something is happening to improve things in that regard because I keep saying if I retire and I have trained only Lawyers and there is no awareness rising in other sectors I won’t feel fulfilled. There was a point I had to get my students to do a project which entails going round different faculties. I divided them into different groups to interact with those in the Sciences, Engineering and other Faculties and enlighten them on IP.

Recently I got a letter from WIPO saying there is this Distant Learning Programme and they want us to make nominations from the University to participate. I could just have taken it to the Dean of Law but I took it straight to the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics and Research and told her this is an opportunity and that I want participants from everywhere. Even the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, when I told her to nominate some of her students, she indicated interest herself and I told her to nominate her candidates and I will add her. She is now part of it together with the Director of Entrepreneurship, HOD Technical Education, HOD Art Education, HOD Science Education, Engineering, the College of Medicine, several others.

Question: What are the areas you would like to see NCC improve on or pay more attention to as it celebrates 35 years and chart a vibrant course to strengthen the frontiers of the Copyright ecosystem?     

Answer: For me I like to look out for the underdogs, the vulnerable groups. NCC is doing a lot in that area especially when it comes to ensuring that they have not been cheated, enforcement of their rights, you will see all this legal actions instituted by the Commission, you see the raids. It is risky to do some of these things, putting your selves out there, it is a lot and it is really appreciated but I also want to see more in the area of drawing up of contractual terms because criminal piracy is one dimension but a lot of the impoverishment also comes from contractual civil matters and that one the law is clear that in contract there is free bargaining, free negotiation.

Contract simply means an agreement between two parties, so when two parties come together and agree, there is a contract which becomes enforceable but that agreement itself is hinged on a presumption of equality that I can bargain by myself, but many of them cannot bargain either because they are ignorant, they don’t know what they should even be looking out for or they are in a weaker position relative to the other party.

So we need enlightened creators especially the Genzees (youths), a lot of them are in the creative and Tech space. We need to reach out to them that as you are coming out with things, this are some things you need to look out for, check how we can protect them, especially those who are signing the contracts. I know in Nigeria the businesses themselves are operating in difficult terrains so we can make it unduly harsh for them but there has to be a balance. For instance you can’t have a contract of 20 or 30 years with the same terms, no re-negotiation or anything, so in those areas I think we need to do a bit more.

Last time the DG was saying as new as the Law is they are not going to wait indefinite before it is revised. I would have been happy to see something that gives provisions for revision of contracts 3 to 5 years at the most so that people are not stuck with unconscionable terms.