According to an undated report by the Nigerian
Copyright Commission
(NCC), Nigeria joined other International Negotiators at a Diplomatic
Conference convened by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on
27 June, 2013, to adopt the Marrakesh Treaty to
Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually
Impaired, or otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty). The Director-General (DG) of the NCC gave assurances that the Treaty will be swiftly ratified and
effectively implemented.
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| Source: here |
But will these promises be kept?
As reported in this blog here, the NCC commenced a consultative
process for stakeholders in the copyright industry in order to ascertain how
best to reform the copyright industry in Nigeria. Going by the roadmap of the reform process, the
consultative process was the second stage in the Reform Agenda and
commenced about 3 months past the proposed timeline. The drafting of a
Copyright Reform Bill was to commence straightway after the consultation
process, and last for about 3 months.
Till date, there has been no report on
the consultative forum which held in Abuja and Lagos. There has also been no
report on the progress of the drafting of the Reform Bill. No Bill has been
submitted to the National Assembly for its consideration.
Nigeria signed the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) in March, 1997.
The present Reform which was supposed to take cognisance of these and other treaties
has not moved beyond the consultative process. No further information has been posted on the website dedicated for the
Reform for over 5 months now.
While signing the Marrakesh Treaty is a
welcome development for Nigeria, this Leo cannot help but feel that given the
above-mentioned antecedents, the ratification and implementation of this Treaty
may not happen as swiftly and as effectively as the DG of the NCC has promised.
