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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has commenced a sensitization campaign for printing press operators in Akwa Ibom State, stressing the need for strict compliance with the Copyright Act to curb the menace of piracy.
Speaking in Uyo on Thursday after the exercise, the NCC State Coordinator, Mrs. Cordelia Ibanga, said the sensitization was aimed at assessing the level of compliance with the Copyright Act and educating operators on their responsibilities under the law.
According to her, the Act mandates every printer or printing press to maintain a detailed record book of all transactions with clients, including the nature of work done and delivery timelines.
Ibanga warned that ignorance of the law would not excuse violators, adding that failure to keep proper records or register activities with clients could make printers liable as accomplices in piracy cases.
“This is against the law and detrimental to their businesses, making them liable accomplices to piracy,” she said.
“The sensitization is part of measures to combat the rising cases of piracy in the state and across the country.”
The NCC coordinator explained that the exercise followed several meetings and advisory engagements with stakeholders, noting that enforcement would soon follow for operators who continue to flout the law.
She emphasised that the campaign aims to reduce piracy, curb unauthorised reproduction of creative works, encourage innovation, and ensure that creators receive due benefits from their intellectual efforts — ultimately boosting Nigeria’s creative economy.
Ibanga urged printing press operators and other stakeholders to shun piracy, describing it as a major impediment to the growth of the creative industry and the national economy.
In his remarks, Mr. Kufre Akpan of Variety Media Suites Printing, Uyo, lamented that the proliferation of unregulated printing presses had worsened piracy, as “almost everyone now operates as a printer.”
He pledged to collaborate with the NCC to eliminate the menace from the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sensitization team visited Segmo Printers, Variety Media Suites Printing, Edima Printing Press, and Libhat Printers, among others, within the Uyo metropolis.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
