By Elizabeth Osayande

With Nigeria’s creative sector believed to be contributing about N154 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a leading expert in commercial and intellectual property law at Babcock University, Prof. Dorcas Odunaike has urged lawmakers to expand the 2022 Copyright Act to better protect performers’ rights in the country.

Prof. Odunaike, who made this call during Babcock University’s 56th inaugural lecture titled: Scar in Copyright Protection: Harnessing the Potential of Performers’ Rights in Nigeria which took place at the Babcock University, in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, said the challenges posed by rapid technological advancements, digital piracy, and emerging technologies like deep fakes which allows manipulation of performances have heightened the existing gap in the Act.  

She posited that if the Copyright Act 2022 is well-implemented and updated to address new technologies, performers would have improved economic returns for their efforts leading to a boost in the creative sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s economy.

  “Nigeria is a developing nation that is faced with a lot of challenges that inhibit effective management of performance some of which are identification and monitoring of uses, piracy and bootlegging, digital exploitation of music and video among others,” she said.

Her call to action came as Nigeria’s creative industry contributes about 2% to Nigeria’s GDP and employs approximately 4.2 million people. Key sectors include Nollywood, music, fashion, and digital media.  

Prof. Odunaike pointed out that the proliferation of digital platforms has not only heightened the risk of bootlegging – unauthorised recording and distribution of performances and deep fake technology, but created another level of challenge as machines are not humans who can be held accountable for their actions.

These further raise concerns about authenticity, consent, and potential harm to performers’ reputation or rights. 

Additionally, as content flows freely across borders, navigating differing related rights laws, especially in international infringement cases, becomes increasingly complex.

According to Prof. Odunaike, while the provisions of sections 63-73 of the 2022 Copyright Act mark an improvement in the rights granted to performers compared to the previous Act, performers’ rights are still regarded as secondary to authors’ rights.