The Emerging Digital Age and Copyright Protection in Nigeria: The Need To Strategize

• Author: Fabian Odoh - Godwin Emeka Ngwu
• Position: Principal Partners, (Odoh Nwodoh & Associates), N0 101 Enugu Road Nsukka, Enugu State Nigeria - Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu State Nigeria
• Pages: 73-87

JURIDICA

73

The Emerging Digital Age and Its Legal

Impacts on Copyright Protection in

Nigeria: The Need to Strategize

Fabian Odoh

1

, Godwin Emeka Ngwu

2

Abstract: This work examined the legal impacts of the emerging digital age on copyright protection

in Nigeria with a view to suggesting ways forward. A cursory look at the level of technological

advancement will reveal that new technologies are pushing the older ones into extinction,which has

been witnessed in every sphere of human endeavor. It is observed that unauthorized users are

assailing protected work with impunity, hence no corresponding legal sophistication to keep to the

pace of the advancement in Nigeria. This work adopted a descriptive and analytical design o f which

reliance was placed on primary and secondary data. It has equally exposed the inadequacies of the

extant copyright law in Nigeria with a view to determining if th e present legal regime can effectively

address the emerging issues accompanying the emerging digital age. It is revealed that the Nigerian

government has refused to pay deserved attention to its creative industry which has adverse

implication on the economy because aspiring creators will always look up to incentives.

Keywords: Digital age; copyright protection; Digitalization; Copyright regime; infringement

1. Introduction

Garner (2009, p. 361) defines Copyright as an intangible incorporeal right granted

by statute to the author or originator of certain literary or artistic productions

whereby he is vested for a limited period with the sole and exclusive privilege of

multiplying copies of the same, publishing and selling them.According to Adegoke

(2011, p.19) copyright means the exclusive right of ownership conferred on the

creator of a copyrighted work. Intellectual property is in two major aspects, the

first one is the Industrial property which comprises Trademarks, and Patents and

Designs,while the second category is the Copyright.

1

Principal Partners, (Odoh Nwodoh & Associates), N0 101 Enugu Road Nsukka, Enugu State

Nigeria, Corresponding author: Odohfabianekele@gmail.com.

2

Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Enugu State Un iversity of Science and Technolo gy (ESUT), Enugu State

Nigeria, E-mail: godeme77@gmail.com. AUDJ, Vol. 15, No. 3/2019, pp. 73-87