CONCLUSIONES Y RECOMENDACIONES

The Nigerian Act makes provision for the grant of compulsory license for a television or broadcasting station that apply for such, to produce and publish the translation of literary or dramatic work which has been published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction; or any text incorporated in audio-visual fixation prepared and published solely for the purpose of systematic instructional activity, for broadcasting the translation for the purpose of teaching or for the dissemination of the results of specialized technical or scientific research to experts in any particular field.⁶⁸⁷

It is obvious that the various circumstances under which compulsory licenses may be granted as shown above; all tend to promote access by the public to the relevant works and, invariably increase access to knowledge.⁶⁸⁸This is a step in the right direction.

685 Ibid. Paragraph 3.

686 Ibid. Paragraph 3.

687 Ibid. Paragraph 4.

688M Ozioko, „Copyright Provisions Impacting on Access to knowledge: A Comparative Analysis‟, UNIZIK Law Journal, Vol 7 No. 1 2010.p. 61.

175 4.13 Copyright Terms

Copyright does not rest in perpetuity but ceases to subsist in a work by effluxion of time. The duration of Copyright depends on the type of work and whether the authorship is ascertained, anonymous or pseudonymous. Under the Nigerian Act, the duration of Copyright granted to works is as set out in the Nigerian Copyright Act.⁶⁸⁹ Copyright in a literary, musical or artistic work, excluding photographs, is from the time of creation, for the life time of the author and Seventy year thereafter.⁶⁹⁰ In the case of a body corporate or where the work is made by or under the direction or control of the government, state authority or a prescribed international body, Copyright subsists for seventy years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.⁶⁹¹ Similarly, where an author of a literary, musical or artistic work is anonymous or pseudonymous, the Copyright in such work would subsist for seventy years calculated from the beginning of the year immediately following the year in which the work was first published.⁶⁹²

In an action for infringement under the Nigerian Act, there is a presumption of law to the effect that if no evidence is led to the contrary, the Court will presume that the name appearing on a work purporting to be the name of the author is the name of such author.⁶⁹³ Again, the singular fact that an author is not known does not make his work pseudonymous.⁶⁹⁴ A work may not be considered to be pseudonymous or anonymous unless no name appears on the work or the name on it is obviously a pseudonym.⁶⁹⁵ Mere initials or pen names may be treated as pseudonymous unless they are generally understood to refer to a known author.⁶⁹⁶ In the same vein, Copyright in cinematograph films and phonographs ceases

689 C.R.A.N. First Schedule.

690 Ibid.

691 Ibid. Paragraph (1).

692 Ibid.

693 Ibid. Section 43.

694 J Asein, Nigerian Copyright Law & Practice, Op. Cit. p.108.

695.Ibid.

696 Ibid.

176 to subsist after the expiration of fifty years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.⁶⁹⁷Furthermore, Copyright in sound recordings ceases to subsist fifty years from the beginning of the year in which it was first made.⁶⁹⁸ In the case of broadcasts, the term of Copyright is fifty years after the end of the year in which the broadcast first took place.⁶⁹⁹

It is very clear that Copyright terms under the Nigerian Act are above those prescribed in the International Instrument which Nigeria is a party to. For example, the Berne Convention provides that the term of Copyright in literary and artistic works is a term of life plus fifty years after the death of the creators.⁷⁰⁰ The Rome Convention stipulates that the term of Copyright in phonographs and broadcasts is twenty years from the date of production or publication.⁷⁰¹ Although the Copyright terms granted by the Nigerian Act will give authors and their heirs a fairly long period to enjoy the proceeds of their labour, these terms are anti Copyright in that they are too long to inhibit access to works for purposes of advancement of knowledge and information. It is therefore suggested that the Act be amended to limit the terms to fifty years from the publication of such works.

It must be pointed out that the Act does provide for Copyright terms in relation to unpublished works. This should not be understood to mean that unpublished works are not neither recognized nor protected under the Act. However, in order to eliminate any controversy associated with the aforementioned omission, it is suggested that the Act be amended to expressly provide for Copyright terms of unpublished works.

697 C.R.A.N. Paragraph (2) of the First Schedule.

698 Ibid. Paragraph (2).

699 Ibid. Paragraph (4).

700 Article 7 of Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886.

701Article 14 of Rome Convention For the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, 1961.

177 As a general rule, upon the expiration of Copyright by effluxion of time, the work formerly copyrighted goes into public domain. The legal effect therefore is that such work can be copied, published, produced and reproduced by any person without much ado. The acts which ordinarily would have amounted to infringement would not constitute violation of Copyright enforceable by law.⁷⁰²