Edaota Agbeniyi better known as “Edaoto’’, an Afrobeat singer, on Sunday said that government should amend the law on copyright so that it could curb piracy and other vices affecting artistes in the country.
“Nigeria needs a very strong law on intellectual property to curtail piracy and other vices affecting artists. The existing ones need to be amended,’’ he said.
Agbeniyi said that the Nigerian copyright laws have several areas that need to be amended so that they could handle copyright infringement.
He said that the piracy laws needed to be enforced on accused after appearing in the court of law.
“Nobody has been given a very stiff penalty like jailed sentence for piracy or plagiarism in the country.
“How can a court of competent jurisdiction fine an accused somebody N1,000 or N10,000, for an offence as grave as plagiarism.
“Just like in every sector of the Nigerian economy and daily activities, the judicial system has to be very strong to curtail the intellectual property thief.
“If the perpetrators know they will be jailed for long and the court will not free them, they will desist from the act,’’ he said.
He noted that corruption and greed are making piracy to thrive in the country.
“Piracy is so bad in Nigeria that local artists and filmmakers now refuse to release their latest albums and movies into the retail market.
“The intellectual property protection through an enforced law is the only way of protecting the creativity of authors, producers, filmmakers and others.
“The law has to ensure that the nation’s intellectual treasures and the resulting economic derivation are better secured,’’ he said.
The musician noted that lack of adequate protection over time had resulted in direct economic loss to right owners while government was denied revenue from legitimate products.
He stressed that intellectual theft and fraudulent claims that characterized piracy and other intellectual property abuses had been left unchecked for long in the country.
According to him, experts say that a modern and well managed copyright system can be a catalyst for economic reform in the country.
“For that to be achieved, we need strong infrastructure in place and stiffer laws to fight piracy and allow every man to enjoy the fruits of his labour,’’ he said.