In a bid to strengthen the copyright law for stakeholders' benefit, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has confiscated over N1billion worth of pirated materials between January and June 2013.
The organisation's Deputy Director, Public Affairs Department, Mr. Aderemi Adewusi disclosed this when he led his team on a courtesy visit to The Nation newspaper's office in Abuja.
Mr. Adewusi said: "We have seized over N1.1 billion worth of pirated goods between January and June 2013. We also have had 40 convictions and 109 pending cases on copyright offenders.
"We use the pirated goods seized as evidences and later destroy them to avoid them gaining entrance into the market and also to serve as a lesson to other pirates."
He claimed that Nigerians condone piracy and see it as economic convenience which has, in turn, impacted negatively on the country's economy.
"Nigerians need to know that piracy is a serious public issue. At the moment, Nigerians condone it. They see piracy as economic convenience. They feel why they should pay higher price for what they can get at a cheaper rate? They don't see piracy as a crime and they are not aware that it deprives some people of their right and livelihood. Rather, they see it as an economic issue where they can get something at a cheaper rate," he said.
On the presence of piracy in Abuja, he said: "Piracy is here in Abuja. We have had several raids in Abuja this year. We raided federal secretariat where they were selling pirated books. We raided the Industrial Court, hotels and schools and seized pirated materials."
He further explained that most hotels in Abuja are culprits of broadcast piracy.
Explaining the term, he said: "Broadcast piracy is the use of DSTV and cable signals illegally. Hotels pay wrong rate and when I say wrong rate, I mean they pay for domestic licenses but they convert it for commercial purpose. Most of the hotels that hang big TVs and show live football matches are guilty of broadcast piracy."
To curtail the crime, he revealed that a levy will be introduced to curtail anyone caught in the act and the levy will, in turn, generate revenue for stakeholders, the commission and the government.
Explaining how the levy will be implemented, he said: "Anybody who infringes on copyright law will be subjected to a levy. The levy will be shared among the stakeholders, the commission and the government at the ratio of 60 per cent to stakeholders and the remaining 40 per cent will be shared equally between the government and the commission.
Seeking partnership with The Nation, the commission said "our mission is to suppress piracy and to get confidence of our people because despite all we do, the public is not aware. We cover books, films, computer software, videos, music, arts and crafts and issues that deal with cultural expressions. We have a very large mandate and that is why we need the press.
"There is no achievement if the public is not aware of what we are doing. The more aware the public is, the more it will put them on notice that piracy is not business as usual."
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