The Nigerian Coalition Against Piracy (NCAP) has taken new steps towards protecting copyright owners in Nigeria’s audio-visual industry with a vow to make piracy a difficult and risky business for those who engage in such an act.
According to a statement released at press conference recently, the Coalition says its fight against piracy will henceforth be anchored on a tripod of enlightenment, regulation and enforcement.
The statement reads in part: “Piracy has brought the creative audio-visual industries to its knees and we have no option now than to rise and fight or die. This piracy comes in various forms. The most popular is counterfeiting of DVDs and VCDs. Other forms include illegal broadcast, illegal downloading and streaming, illegal exhibition and screening”.”
With perpetrators ranging from the dreaded Alaba pirates to popular long distance transport companies, television and radio stations, the Coalition says the first phase of its new strategy in the fight against piracy entails educating infringers, stakeholders, and the general populace on the nature, evils and consequences of piracy, with the hope of persuading some of them to renounce the evil trade and embrace legitimate forms of distribution.
The Coalition further disclosed that in the second phase of the new strategy, which is regulation, it will be engaging and cooperating with government at all levels on peaceful protests to provide logistical and financial support to relevant agencies of government.
On the enforcement strategy, the Coalition disclosed that it will constitute a standing task force with a national spread beginning from the ward to the federal level in order to ensure there is no longer a hiding place for the wicked.
Recall that NCAP came into existence on 19th July, 2016, when the major copyright owners in Nigeria’s audio-visual space rose with one voice and decided to counter attack the virus that has decimated the Nigerian Audio-Visual industries.
Caleb Nor
Corporate Affairs Unit
NICO, Abuja