CRITICAL AREAS UNDER THE NIGERIAN COPYRIGHT ACT FOR URGENT LEGISLATIVE INTERVENTION: COMPARING WITH THE UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT ACT

Abstract

The Copyright Act is the extant law on copyright in Nigeria. The Act which was passed in 1988 has undergone few amendments. However those amendments are superficial and did not address current issues especially challenges of copyright protection in the current digital era. Notably works on the internet rampantly infringed and there is no legal framework in the Copyright Act to address the issue. The United States Copyright Act has undergone several amendments to address issues of technology as they arise and there is a robust mechanism in place to study new development in technology as it affects copyright protection. This paper analysed the Copyright Act of Nigeria and the United States of America. The research found that the Copyright Act of Nigeria is inadequate to protect the copyright in its present state especially in the digital environment. The research further found that the Copyright Act of the United States addressed contemporary issues affecting copyright protection especially in the digital era. It further addressed other issues like digital broadcasting including cable transmission, satellite transmission and internet broadcast. It was thus recommended that the Copyright Act should be amended to address the short comings and the United States Copyright Act is a good model that can be referred to in amending the Copyright Act of Nigeria.