Intellectual property theft: How far can FG go?

By Ibrahim Ramalan ‘

“Th e way piracy is going if it is not tamed on time, it would become a monster,” the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed stated this while inaugurating an anti-piracy team which is about the fi rst-ever interface between the Police, Ministry of Information and the creative industry. Members of the committee include the Director General, National Film and Video Censorship Board, Mr. Adedayo Th omas; Th e Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji; Deputiy Inspector General of Police in Charge of Criminal Investigation Department Hyacinth Maidugu and that of Operations Joshak Habila, President, Motion Picture Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPAN) Abdullahi Maikano Usman; Ms Tundun Aderibigbe of the House of Tara and Mr. Tonye Princewell, a movie producer. In pursuance of this, already the Nigeria Police Force has promised to set up an anti-piracy unit in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to combat the piracy of intellectual property in the country.

It could be recalled that this is coming following a request from the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who led a delegation of Creative Industry stakeholders on a courtesy visit to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris in Abuja recently. Th e Police helmsman nominated three senior police offi cers, including two deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force CID and operations, to work with the Ministry of Information and Culture as well as the stakeholders to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the renewed and sustained battle against piracy. ‘’Th e time for talk is over, we should go into action,’’ he said. Earlier, the Minister said he led the creme de la creme, movers and shakers of the Creative Industry to meet with the InspectorGeneral to solicit his support for a sustained fi ght against piracy, which is preventing the practitioners from reaping the rewards of their labour. ‘’I want to thank the police for helping us to combat piracy and to solicit for more cooperation in the fi ght against piracy. ‘’Piracy is a crime. You cannot take the sweat, labour and intellectual work of an individual, reproduce and sell it without his or her consent,” he said. Alhaji Mohammed extolled the contribution of the Creative Industry to the nation’s development, saying it contributes 1.42 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), employs millions of people and puts Nigeria on the global map. ‘’Th e works of actors, actresses, musicians, fashion designers, etc, have travelled widely and they (practitioners) are good Ambassadors of Nigeria. However, their industry is under threat and we must fi nd a way to save it,’’ he said. Th e Minister said he recently hosted Creative Industry stakeholders at a roundtable and a conference, and that the biggest complaint from both meetings was the negative impact of the activities of piracy on the industry.

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