DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT AND ACCESS TO COPYRIGHTABLE WORKS IN NIGERIA: LESSONS FROM INDIA

Abstract

Copyright  laws  confer  on  authors  a  bundle  of  rights  such  as  the  rights  of production,  publication, performance, adaptation, broadcasting, etc. in relation to their works. This is to encourage authors to create more  works  by  allowing  them  to  reap  economic  benefits  accruing  from  their  creation.  By  doing  so,  authors contribute  to  the  pool  of  knowledge.  However,  the  laws  try  strike  a  balance  between  the  enjoyment  of  these rights  and  the  public  interest  right  of  access  to  copyrightable  works  for  advancement  of  knowledge  and information. This long existing rule has been distorted as a result of the emergence of digitalization and other technological innovations of the 20thand 21stcenturies which created more access to copyrightable works; in most  cases,  unauthorized  access,  to  the  detriment  of  the  right  owners.  Copyright  laws  have  embraced technological protection of these works in the face of the legal uncertainties and a number of lacunae inherent in the obsolete Copyright Laws, especially those of Nigeria which were oriented towards analogue exploitative technologies. What this means is that these technological devices which do not admit of fair use of protected works are bound to end creativity in that they inhibit public access to works. The work examined the Copyright Acts  of  Nigeria,  India  and  other  Copyright  related  Instruments in  order  to  discover  the  areas  of  conflict between the authors’ rights and those of the general public caused by the use of technological protective devices and made recommendations on ways to achieve everlasting solution to these conflicts; and in order to achieve a holistic enforcement of Copyright.