Copyright is the exclusive right granted by a statute to an author (i.e., an artist, writer, publisher, musician, performer, photographer, architect, film maker, and sculptor) of certain works to control the doing of some acts in relation to the work. However, these exclusive rights are not absolute: they are subject to certain limitations.

Procedure

1. Submit application directly through an agent for registration to any office of the Commission’s office nationwide.
2. Submit to the Commission, a completed registration form, along with copies of the work, and evidence of payment of the prescribed fee.

NOTE

Registering for copyright is not a precondition for protection. You do not have to register your copyright. It subsists automatically in a work from the moment the work is created.

However, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has established a voluntary copyright registration scheme, designed to enable authors and right owners notify the Commission of the creation and existence of a work.

The NCC justifies the establishment of this scheme based on the Following benefits:

1. 1. It provides an independent source of verifying data relating to a work or its author to the general public.
   2. The acknowledgement certificate issued provides prima facie evidence of the facts shown on it.
   3. It provides a depository for preserving original copies of works notified.
   4. The information and data contained in the Notification data base offers reliable rights management information to members of the public and prospective licensees to the work.