How Nigerian authorities loses cash yearly because of mental property rights violations within the music and movie {industry}
Wura, a well-liked Nigerian cleaning soap opera, tells the story of Wura Amoo-Adeleke, a ruthless chief government of Frontline Gold Mine married to a police commissioner.
It is Showmax Nigeria’s most-watched present and likewise its longest-running sequence, with over 100 episodes already aired and a 3rd season underway.
Yet, most individuals who watch Wura stream the present illegally, in keeping with Showmax Nigeria.
While Wura’s recognition highlights Nigeria’s burgeoning movie {industry}, generally known as Nollywood, additionally it is an instance of how rife mental property rights violations by piracy are within the nation.
Based on viewers knowledge, Nollywood loses a jaw-dropping N10 billion to fifteen billion (US$6 million to $9 million) yearly because of piracy.
“Nollywood has faced persistent challenges with intellectual property (IP) rights violations for decades and the consequences have been significant,” stated Busola Tejumola, government head of content material and channels at MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-television group that owns Showmax.
“One of the most profound impacts has been financial, as content creators and investors in the industry are losing substantial potential income,” stated Tejumola in an interview with Nairametrics. “The violation deprives them of the professional earnings they deserve from their work, stifling each particular person and industry-wide progress,’ she stated.
Tejumola stated she feared there might be lasting harm to the {industry} until the issue was correctly addressed.
“This issue extends beyond Showmax, it’s affecting the revenue of the entire sector,” stated Tejumola. Multichoice Group, in collaboration with Irdeto, a world chief in digital platform cybersecurity and key companions, performed round 155 raids throughout Africa, resulting in a profitable shutdown of 4,351 pirate content material networks, she stated.
As a potential resolution, MultiChoice introduced in 2021 that it will scale back the price of Showmax cell subscriptions throughout Africa by a mean of 20% for entry on a single cell system. Nigerians pay as little as N1600 (US $1) for a Showmax subscription. The music {industry} faces comparable mental property rights violations. Access to Spotify and Apple Music is now as little as N400 (25 US cents) per particular person.
In 2015, Nigerian actor and producer Kunle Afolayan found that his movie “October 1” had been pirated and was being bought on the streets of Lagos for simply N500 ($3 in 2015 and $20 in 2024) a duplicate even earlier than he had time to recoup the $2 million he invested in making the movie. He threatened to depart Nigeria and took to social media to publicly problem those that had pirated his work.
Although Nigeria has legal guidelines towards piracy, the issue persists because of poor implementation of copyright legal guidelines, issue in prosecuting offenders, and corruption in companies meant to police it, {industry} consultants stated.
Updated legal guidelines, however extra wanted
Samuel Samiai Andrews, a Nigerian IP lawyer and lecturer at Al Yamamah University in Saudi Arabia, stated the revision of the 2004 Copyright Law helped deliver the {industry} into the digital period.
“There is an economic power imbalance for Nigerian creatives in the music and film industry, coupled with a concerning lack of legal experts in the digital creative spaces and the limited state of legal infrastructure,” he stated.
“While the new Copyright Act instituted in 2022 acknowledges the digital creative economy and its contemporary jurisprudence, further amendments to the copyright laws are needed, especially at the intersection between AI and law,” he added. “Nevertheless, there have been positive strides and improvement in Nigerian copyright policy since the beginning of the decade.”
Andrews blamed authorized, social, and political elements for contributing to the lax copyright regulation within the nation. “It took Nigeria over three years to amend copyright law to align with the current technological advancement and economic realities,” he stated.
Adebayo Shittu, the nation’s former communications minister, estimated in 2016 that about $287 million was misplaced yearly because of software program piracy, with 82% of software program put in on private computer systems taken from unlicensed sources. In 2019, Director General of the Nigerian Copyrights Commission, John Asien, disclosed that Nigeria misplaced N918 trillion ($3 billion) yearly from piracy.
Meanwhile, the World Bank stated that for each one professional CD bought in Nigeria, 9 are pirated. It additionally estimated that about 80% of worldwide CDs out there within the nation are pirated, and 40% of native merchandise are equally affected. Globally, piracy accounts for about 7% of commerce, however in Nigeria, it’s a staggering 80%, the establishment stated.
Queen Blessing Ebigieson, president of the Association of Movie Producers in Nigeria, the {industry}’s greatest foyer group, stated it had been working intently with regulation enforcement companies to fight piracy and to guard its members.
“We take piracy and intellectual property rights seriously,” she stated, including that the affiliation had launched a marketing campaign to coach the general public on the risks of piracy. “This is because intellectual property rights violations through piracy have cost Nollywood producers a lot of money and hindered the industry’s growth,” Ebigieson stated.
Some followers are prepared to pay
Juanita Abii, an leisure lawyer who works straight with labels and artists, stated Nigerian artists have been cultivating a fanbase that have been prepared to pay for authorized platforms.
“A loyal fanbase means more willing customers for paid streams who will also watch you perform, thereby driving revenues,” she stated.
Abii added: “While Nigeria has updated its copyright laws, enforcement remains a significant challenge. The agency responsible for safeguarding and collecting royalties has been marred with controversies and internal struggles, making it harder for artists to reap their yield. Additionally, a lack of awareness has also contributed to the issue.”
James Omokwe, a Nigerian movie producer at Showmax, recognized for exhibits resembling Chetam, Diiche, Riona, Ajoche, and Itura, stated he was much less affected by IP points since he operates as a producer on a one-off fee foundation. “If I earned royalties, I might be running at a loss or low revenue due to many Nigerians’ preference for art consumption through illegal means,” he defined. He added: “Streaming has allowed Nigerian filmmakers to recoup their production costs and make profits.”
Lagos’ state authorities didn’t reply to requests for touch upon piracy and the way it impacts income. However, in 2024 Inland Revenue Service government, Ayodele Subair, stated the state was making an attempt to replace its tax legal guidelines.
Ebigieson, the president of the Association of Movie Producers Nigeria, stated the federal government might bolster the movie {industry} by a extra favorable tax regime, loans, and grants. However, she stated the {industry} wanted stronger protections towards IP violators.
“I also suggest potential jail terms for violators while actively building an environment to promote education and awareness,” she added.
This story was written as a part of Wealth of Nations, a pan-African media expertise growth programme supported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation as a part of its international work aiming to strengthen free, truthful and knowledgeable societies. Any monetary help or assist offered to the journalist has no editorial affect. The content material of this text belongs solely to the writer and isn’t endorsed by or related to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Thomson Reuters, Reuters, nor every other associates. More info at www.wealth-of-nations.or
