Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN), Directors’ Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and Multichoice Nigeria have canvassed establishment of an Intellectual Property (IP) court in the country to promote hard work and sanitise the industry.

They made the call during the MultiChoice Anti-Piracy Roundtable in Lagos. The bodies, who sought IP thieves be treated as criminals, submitted that the proposed court would reduce piracy and boost job creation nationwide.

IPLAN president, Obafemi Agaba, said that IP reaffirmed IP as a fundamental part of commerce, and as such, the government must give it a serious thought if it truly wants to attract more investments into the country.

“Part of the problem in Nigeria is the adjudication of disputes relating to intellectual property suffering long adjournments because there are other priorities of judges. For instance, the judges take criminal, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) matters seriously and they are unable to appreciate the commercial undertones of IP,” he submitted.

On her part, Executive Head, Content & Channels, West Africa at MultiChoice, Dr. Busola Tejumola, said: “To fight and win this war, we need collaborative efforts. Piracy is a global issue, but we can play our part. Multichoice is playing its part by leading this conversation and the campaign, and we are calling on different agencies to be part of this because it’s a Nigeria fight, a fight for our economy, a fight to retain jobs.

“For instance, let’s go to the carpenter who builds the set of a movie that has been pirated, if the producer does not earn money from the money, then he will not have the money to produce another one and then the carpenter will not be hired to build another set for another movie, likewise, the makeup artists, food vendors and others.”

Also speaking, NCC Deputy Director, Operation, Lagos office, Charles Amudipe, noted: “If you are a creator, and your work is original, then you are bound to enjoy the fruits of your labour, but when that is not happening, then the commission should be approached and we will attend to the complaints and make sure whoever is taking undue advantage is brought to justice.

“We need the support of the creators themselves, the industry to end the menace.”When asked about the challenges in fighting piracy, he said: “Every sector of the government is facing funding challenges, staffing. If the commission will be exposed to better funding, then the commission will go a long way to do a lot.”