Nigeria loses billions of dollars worth of intellectual property – Commission

The Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NPC), John Asein, said Nigeria has lost intellectual property worth billions of dollars to theft in the past few years. Asein, who spoke at the opening of a workshop for Art and Culture Writers Association of Nigeria (ACWAN), media practitioners and partners in the copyright sector on Wednesday in Abuja, said the impact on creative talents was being discouraged by piracy. “I don’t know how many of you who have noticed the number of publishing houses which had been on for more down 50 years have suddenly closed down because of piracy,” he said. The DG noted that the copyright operational landscape is evolving more rapidly, especially in today’s digital world from a decade ago, when we had the mass reproduction of CDs and DVDs to deal with. “Today, we are confronted with cloud-based infringements, algorithm-driven content aggregation, digital anonymity, and hyperactive online piracy networks. These developments have heightened the stakes and demand new regulatory responses and broader partnerships,” he said. Asein noted that the workshop would be used to strengthen the creative ecosystem as a dialogue beacon for policy discourse, institutional reflection, and collaborative action in the copyright space, adding that the inaugural Moses Ekpo Prize for Innovative Copyright Reporting will be awarded posthumously to Evelyn Osagie of The Nation. In his speech, the Director General of the National Press Council (NPC), Dr Dili Ezughah, said the council has introduced a factchecker application to stem the menace of misinformation, fake news and disinformation and others.

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