Media Rights Agenda, MRA, has called for a comprehensive reform of intellectual property frameworks in Nigeria to make them more modern and rights-respecting.
This is as it described the current laws as fragmented, limiting creativity and restricting freedom of expression.
In a statement issued in Lagos to commemorate this year’s World Intellectual Property Day, MRA’s Programme Officer, Ms Ayomide Eweje, said: “Nigeria needs an intellectual property protection system that is modern, efficient, rights-respecting, and development-oriented. But the current frameworks discourage creativity and investment, and restrict access, innovation, and freedom of expression.”
Noting that World Intellectual Property Day is observed every year on April 26 under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Eweje insisted that this year’s commemoration provides an important opportunity for Nigerian stakeholders to reflect on the role of intellectual property in fostering creativity and innovation while ensuring that such protections do not undermine the public’s right to access knowledge and information.
According to her, “Given the fragmented and uneven nature of the current frameworks, it is imperative that they are modernized and consolidated. Specifically, clear provisions should be introduced on issues such as digital assets and online use, AI-generated works and ownership, and emerging technologies, as outdated laws create uncertainty for innovators, investors, and content creators.”
Eweje argued that although it was important to protect intellectual property, such protection should not override access to knowledge, while public interest safeguards should be provided by expanding and clarifying exceptions for education and research, libraries and archives, journalism and public interest reporting.
Without such robust exceptions, she said, intellectual property protections could become a barrier to education, investigative journalism, and civic engagement.
Eweje insisted that it was also important to clarify the relationship between intellectual property frameworks and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011 and ensure that claims of intellectual property were not misused to block disclosure of public-interest information, as public institutions sometimes invoke copyright or confidentiality to deny legitimate information requests.
She explained that since online content regulation is still evolving, it is important to define the responsibilities of platforms regarding copyrighted content and establish balanced notice-and-takedown systems while offering protections against arbitrary or abusive content removal, adding that “in the absence of such clarity, poorly designed systems can lead to censorship or unchecked infringement.”
Eweje stressed that government-funded knowledge should ordinarily be widely accessible to the public and, as such, the Government should adopt open licensing for publicly funded research, encourage open data policies, and support public repositories for research and educational materials.
She said as an organisation committed to the promotion and defence of freedom of expression, media freedom, and access to information, MRA was of the view that intellectual property systems must strike a fair balance between rewarding creators and safeguarding the broader public interest.
According to her, in an increasingly digital world, where knowledge and creative content are disseminated across borders with unprecedented speed, overly restrictive intellectual property regimes can limit access to educational materials, stifle innovation, and constrain journalistic activities.
Observing that journalists and other media professionals often face legal and practical uncertainties when using copyrighted materials in the public interest, particularly in investigative and public accountability reporting, Eweje called on policymakers to ensure that the rights of journalists and media organizations to use copyrighted materials in ways that served the public interest were adequately protected.
She urged the government to foster innovation by supporting creators while at the same time preventing monopolistic practices that could limit competition and access, and promote open access policies and the use of open licensing frameworks that enable wider dissemination of knowledge.
Eweje said: “As digital technologies continue to transform the creation, distribution, and consumption of content, there is an urgent need for inclusive and forward-looking policies that recognize the realities of the digital age. Intellectual property protection must not become a tool for restricting legitimate access to information or suppressing public discourse.”
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