• Latest
    • AI
    • Careers
    • Diversity
    • Future of IP
    • Law firm news
    • Standard-essential patents
    • Trade secrets
    • Unified Patent Court
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Copyright
  • Jurisdiction reports
  • Rankings
    • About Rankings
    • China Rankings
    • Germany Rankings
    • Global Rankings
    • UK Rankings
    • USA Rankings
    • Diversity & Inclusion Top 100 2025
    • Leaders 2025
    • Company Directory
  • WIPR Insights
    • Magazines
    • Whitepapers
  • Events
    • Conferences
    • Conference Videos
    • Webinars
  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Login


Subscribe
  • Home
  • Copyright
  • Nigerian government plans clampdown on online piracy
prconsult1
Afam Ezekude (centre) NNC director general, speaks at a consultative forum in capital city Abuja. Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) / www.copyright.gov.ng - http://www.copyright.gov.ng/index.php/news-and-events/media-center/category/1-photos-galle
6 August 2013Copyright

Nigerian government plans clampdown on online piracy

The Nigerian Government has said it is seeking to introduce new legislation to curb online piracy in the country.

Afam Ezekude, director general of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), says the government has been canvassing opinion and will be taking advice on how to tackle digital and Internet piracy and will be partnering search engine Google.

According to news website The Guardian Nigeria, Ezekude said the NCC would be working on a draft bill to better prosecute online copyright offenders and that arrangements have been finalised to introduce an e-registration system to enable IP owners register works online.

“Nigeria needs a law that would be in line with the digital age; we have concluded plans to build appropriate infrastructure to tackle Internet piracy through online tracking. Piracy kills creativity and it persists due to inability to enforce copyright laws,” he said.

However, Ighiwi Erhahon, associate in the IP department at Aluko & Oyebode in Lagos, told WIPR he was “surprised” the government was focussing its efforts on online piracy.

Erhahon said that while the NCC is doing “good work in general” it should be more focused on stamping out hard-copy piracy.

Describing it as “still a major issue”, he said, “It has been a problem in Nigeria for a long time so it surprises me that the NCC is focusing on the digital market.

“We are seeing more and more cases of copyright infringement on DVD and CD sales as people tend to buy what is more affordable. I’m not aware of any increasing cases of online piracy.”

Ezukude said that while copyright infringement was a major problem, the NCC was addressing the issue through proactive enforcement and would instead be turning its focus to online piracy.

According to the NCC’s official website, last month it ordered the arrest of ten suspected “pirates” engaged in “unauthorised commercial reproduction and distribution” of copyright protected works with an estimated value of 10 million Nigerian Nairas ($62,000) during two separate enforcement operations.

Both Google and the NCC did not respond to immediate requests to comment on the alleged partnership.

Already registered?

Login to your account


If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.

For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Patents
Nigeria: Monetising and licensing patents
25 May 2023   Queen Ajura Ugbeda of Inventa offers a guide to leveraging Nigeria’s Patent and Design Act.
Copyright
1.2 million pirated goods seized by Nigerian authorities
4 October 2017   The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has announced that it seized more than 1.2 million pirated goods in the first six months of 2017.


Editor's picks

Stability attacks Getty’s ‘confected’ case in closing arguments
Artificial Intelligence
Stability attacks Getty’s ‘confected’ case in closing arguments
3 July 2025

Editor's picks

Artificial Intelligence
Stability attacks Getty’s ‘confected’ case in closing arguments
3 July 2025
Trademarks
Ferrari wins Testarossa classic car case at EU court
2 July 2025
Patents
‘We created law’: G1/24 and the creation of the ‘diamond standard’
1 July 2025
Patents
A step too far? Why Stewart’s approach is dividing opinion
20 June 2025
AI
What is an ‘AI training declaration’ and who might need one?
20 June 2025
Future of IP
‘Sad beige’ lawsuit shows how hard it is for influencers to stand out
20 June 2025

More articles

Stability attacks Getty’s ‘confected’ case in closing arguments
‘Once is good enough’: Getty closing arguments rely on scant evidence
Tech litigators join Hogan Lovells’ Paris practice from A&O Shearman
Getty v Stability AI: Five takeaways from the courtroom so far
Defending the realm: How a key MoD supplier crafts its IP strategy
What is an ‘AI training declaration’ and who might need one?
Stamped out: What was in the US Copyright Office AI report?
Third Circ grants first ‘fair use’ AI and copyright appeal in Thomson v ROSS

  • Home
  • News
  • Directory
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Subscription

WIPR
Newton Media Ltd
Kingfisher House
21-23 Elmfield Road
BR1 1LT
United Kingdom

  • Twitter
  • Linkedin