The National Copyright Commission (NCC) has expressed its resolve to synergize with critical stakeholders in the creative industry in Kano to address the menace of piracy of intellectual properties in the state.
The Director General of the commission, Mr. John Aisen, stated this in Kano on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ interactive session organised as part of activities marking the 30 years anniversary of the commission.
Aisen lamented the rate of copyright infringements in the book sector and film industry, saying that was responsible for dwindling returns accruable to intellectual property owners across the country.
He argued that intellectual property owners are not supposed to be poor given their contributions and investment in the creative sector, reiterating the commitment of the commission to ensure that copyright owners get value for their investment.
“If you reflect, you’ll understand that there is a lot of lamentation; the authors, producers, publishers have been lamenting that there is no sufficient recompense to adequately compensate the creative sector for all that they have been bringing out.
“I understand that being in the creative sector is not just to entertain but it is also about using that as a tool for wealth creation in a way that those who create this wealth would have enough recompense and would be well cared for by the industry and the proceeds of their works,” he said.
Speaking on the theme: “Changing copyright narrative for wealth creation,” the NCC DG said the anniversary celebration seeks to rekindle hope for the future of creative industry in the country.
One of the participants, Prince G. A. Abdulazeez Aresadu, who is the Managing Director of Azeez Spotless Press Limited Kano, blamed the inability to contain the menace of piracy over the years to deliberate sidelining of printers in the monitoring and enforcement committee of the commission.
He advised the government to consider printers as active and critical partners in fighting piracy in the book subsector.
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