CSC4308- IT LAW

LECTURE 2.1

E-Rights : Copyright

A.M.BADE
albad0007@ysu.edu.ng
What is copyrights?
 This is an exclusive right to deal with original literary,
artistic and musical works (original copyright works).
 Copyright refers to the right to control and stop others from
coping one's work (Prof. Ida Madieha).
 Summed up by Lord Bingham in Designers Guild Limited v.
Russell Williams (Textiles)Ltd (2001)1 All ER (HL)at 701 thus;
“The law of copyright rests on a very clear principles: that anyone who by
his or her own skill and labour creates an original work of whatever
character shall, for a limited period, enjoy an exclusive right to copy that
work. No one else may for a reason reap what the copyright sown has
sown.”

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

What is covered by copyright?
 The kinds of works covered by copyright includes: literary
works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works,
newspapers and computer programs; databases; films,
musical compositions, and choreography; artistic works such
as paintings, drawings, photographs and sculpture;
architecture; and advertisements, maps and technical
drawings.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

 Originality
 Must be originated from the author

 That the author had expended sufficient skill and effort.

 Originality in copyright does not connote novelty or newness,

as in the context of patents or designs, nor must it be of any
specific quality.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

Publication

 "Publication" (literary, musical or artistic works or edition of

such a work), shall be judged to have taken place if a copy or
copies of the work have been made available with the consent
of author.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

Authorship, Ownership &
Property in Copyright
 An author is in general the first owner of copyright

 An author has moral rights

 But the owner can claim to enjoy the economic rights

conferred by copyright.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

The UK Copyright, Design
and Patents Act 1988
 (Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, s1)
 Copyright legislation, principally the Copyright Designs and
Patents Act 1988, is designed to protect the authors and
publishers of:
 (a) original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works
 (b) sound recordings, films, broadcasts or cable programmes,
and
 (c) the typographical arrangement of published editions.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

(Copyright Designs and Patents Act
1988, s16)
 By giving them ‘exclusive rights’ in relation to the following
actions:
 (a) to copy the work or reproduce the copyrighted work
 (b) to issue/distribute copies of the work to the public
 (c) to perform, show/display or play the work in public
 (d) to broadcast the work or include it in a cable program
service
 (e) to make an adaptation of the work or do any of the
above in relation to an adaptation

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

How long does copyright
protection last?
 In the UK:
 Literary, Dramatic, Musical or Artistic works - 70 years
after the death of the author (or, if no-one knows who was
the author, or a corporate publication, 70 years after
publication);
 Photographs (which are artistic works) are particularly
complex due to successive pieces of legislation; if taken on
or after 1st August 1989, the period of copyright is 70
years after the death of the photographer

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

How long does copyright
protection last? Cont. …
 Databases - original material in the database retains its
own literary copyright of 70 years after the death of the
author, as does any computer software
 Films and Video - 70 years after the death of the last
surviving author (director, author of screenplay, author of
dialogue, composer of music)
 Sound recordings, tv and cable programmes and
computer-generated works - 50 years after date of release
(or date made, if never released)

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

Copyright in Nigeria
 The Copyright Bill, 2022 was signed into law by the Nigerian President
on March 17, 2023, resulting in the repeal of the Copyright Act of 2004.
This newly signed bill will likely be referred to as the Copyright Act of
2023.
 Section 2(1) of the Copyright Act 2022 makes provisions for works to
qualify for copyright and they include
 (a) literary works;
 (b) musical works;
 (c) artistic works;
 (d) audiovisual works;
 (e) sound recordings; and
 (f) broadcasts.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

Copyright in Nigeria Cont. …
 A literary, musical, or artistic work shall not be eligible to be
copyrighted unless the following occurs, according to Section 2(a-b) of
the Copyright Act:
 (a) some effort has been expended on making the work, to give it an
original character; and
 (b) the work has been fixed in any medium of expression known or later
to be developed, from which it can be perceived, reproduced, or
otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of any machine
or device.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

Duration of Copyright in Nigeria
 It is important to note that copyright does not vest in the author forever.
The First Schedule to Copyright Act LFN 2004 provides for the duration of
copyright protection in a work:
 For literary, musical, and artistic work other than photographs; the
Copyright Act stipulates seventy years after the end of the year in which the
author dies and in the case of a government or a body corporate, seventy
years, after the end of the year in which the work was first published.
 For Cinematograph films and photograph; the Copyright Act stipulates fifty
years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.
 For sound recordings, the Copyright Act stipulates fifty years after the end
of the year in which the recording was first published.
 For broadcasts, the Copyright Act stipulates fifty years after the end of the
year in which the broadcast first took place.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law

Registration of a Copyright in Nigeria
 A voluntary copyright registration scheme has been established by The
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), to enable authors and right
owners to notify the commission of the creation and existence of a
work.
 A person is required to submit an application personally or through an
agent for registration to any office of the NCC nationwide. A complete
registration form, copies of the work, and evidence of payment of the
prescribed fee must be submitted to the commission.

CSC 4308 Information Technology Law