Content creation and Anti-piracy measures under Sections 11 and 54 of the Nigerian Copyright Act, 2022.

1.0 Introduction

Majority of Nigerians place high value on humor. One can argue that humor is used as an antidote for stress, heartbreaks, anxiety, tension, pain, and suffering. Humorous digital content is a fun, unique, and powerful tool?for engaging audience on social media. Digital content creation is the process of generating topic ideas that appeal to your audience. Social media skits have become so important that they form part of our daily routine. This content could be in the form of audio-visuals, video, infographic, or other formats posted or published on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.

The social media boom and the increased internet penetration are factors necessitating the growth of the creative industry.?? Digital content creation is gaining rapid recognition and prominence due to the increased number of internet users and rise of social media platforms[1] as well as its lucrative career path. The potentials in, and prominence of digital content creation is evidenced in the 8th edition of Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award (AMVCA) 2022 where a new award category for ‘Best online social content creator’ was created in recognition and acceptance for the growing popularity and quality of social media content across the African continent[2]. ?

To gain the benefits of digital or online content, the creator is expected to make the content accessible to the audience. On the other hand, the illegal copying or distribution of these content via the internet is negatively affecting the creative industry. ?Fortunately, the introduction of Sections 11 and 54 of the Nigerian Copyright Act 2022, makes copying, downloading, or distributing of digital or online content without the permission of the creator illegal and actionable. The service provider is obliged to take down infringing content after 48 hours of being notified by the creator.

2.0 Prospects in Digital Content Creation

One popular entertainment genre in Nigeria that has harnessed raw talents and transformed them into wealth creation is digital or online content creation[3]. In every entertainment lies the business perspective. Endorsements and roles are offered to digital content creators due to their popularity and the fact they are regarded as a channel of happiness.

Creating quality content should be a key part of your?digital marketing strategy?because it helps one build trust, authority, and overall visibility. When one consistently creates helpful content, the audience will likely begin to trust the creator as an authority in that niche.

Once you gain the audience’s trust, it is much easier to convince them to buy your product or service. This is a powerful way to build relationships with potential customers before they even decide to buy[4].

These content creators have significantly impacted Nigeria and continue to inspire and entertain billions of persons worldwide. They have used their talents to create relatable and engaging content that reflects the daily experiences of Nigerians. They have become vital in digital content creation and are leveraging the power of social media to reach a massive audience. Their ability to create relatable and engaging content has made most of them influential[5]. In sum, the potential in the creative industry includes getting endorsement through entertainment, content creation is a lucrative source of wealth creation. Also, content creation is a good marketing strategy for promoting corporate brands.

3.0 The role of Online audience?to Content creators

Content creators make their money from brand partnerships, endorsement, ads, and in some cases, invitations to host live performances. These are big deals for creators, as they can charge in millions of naira per sponsored post. The amount paid for ads to a creator with 500K Instagram followers is much more than the amount paid to a creator with less than 50K followers. This takes the audience from mere consumers or receivers to stakeholders.?

Having identified the power of the online audience in the journey to being a successful content creator, these creators try to satisfy the audience as there is steep competition for the fan base. This is not the easiest thing to navigate, as with every creative field, there is always a cross-section of the audience who are difficult to please.

Companies most often engage the services of digital content creators to promote their brands due to the large pool of audience that they control.

4.0 Notable Nigerian Online Content Creators

a.????Mr Funny (Oga Sabinus)

?Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Ejekwu, popularly known as Mr. Funny or Oga Sabinus, was Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Mr. Funny discovered his comedy talent at a young age and began actively doing comedy skits while he was in university. Some of his role models who have influenced him in his comedy career are Mr Ibu and Charles Inojie. Oga Sabinus has also featured in multiple Nollywood movies, the likes of ‘Billionaire’s Bride’, ‘Man of War’ and many others. Mr. Funny/Oga Sabinus has about 3.5 million followers on Instagram.

?b.????Brain Jotter

?Chukwuebuka Emmanuel, popularly known by his stage name, Brain Jotter began his career in comedy when he was in college. However, he made his breakthrough in 2020 when he began sharing comedy skits on Instagram. He is famous across various social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Brain Jotter has about 2.4 million followers on Instagram.

?c.?????Lasisi Elenu

Nosa Afolabi, better known as Lasisi Elenu, is one of Africa’s most popular influencers, he is known for his skits with a ‘wide mouth’ disguise filter during performances and on social media. Lasisi is one of Nigeria’s most popular social media influencers with about 571,000 followers on TikTok and over 4.5 million followers on Instagram. His skits focus on varying themes from law to cybercrime, the economy, insecurity, and philosophy. He started out as a musician before diverting to digital content creation. Lasisi is one of the most famous skit makers in Nigeria.

?d.????Taaooma

?Maryam Apaokagi, popularly known as Taaooma started skit-making way back in 2015 and has maintained her “African Mother” niche since then. Her videos often portray the actions and responses of a typical African mother and mostly end with a slap on her part. Taooma usually adopts various personalities in her comedy skits, her ability to play different roles has endeared her to millions of fans and propelled her to elite status in the comedy skit making business. Taaooma has about 4.6 million followers on Instagram.

e.?????Mr Macaroni

Adebowale “Debo” Adedayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, is a Nigerian actor, content creator and citizen activist. A trained thespian, his popularity grew from his comic skits on social media, where he plays the role of a political figure cum sugar daddy called “Daddy Wa” or a sadistic lecturer called “Professor Hard Life”. Mr Macaroni popularized catchphrases like “Ooin”, “Freaky freaky” and “You are doing well”. Mr Macaroni is considered one if the best content creators in Nigeria and has made Steller appearances in some top Nollywood movies. Mr. Macaroni has about 3.5 million followers on Instagram.

?f.?????Zicsaloma

Aloma Isaac Junior, popularly known as Zicsaloma. Prior to becoming a comedian, Zicsaloma contested in The Voice Nigeria season 2 competition and got eliminated in the semi-finals. After bagging his degree, he embarked on full time content creation in 2017, and became an internet sensation after his viral comic skit on TikTok. He rose to fame in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown when he created lots of content and became a comedy sensation. Zicsaloma has about 2.9 million followers on TikTok and about 1.4 million followers on Instagram.

?g.????Broda Shaggi

Samuel Animashaun Perry known professionally as Broda Shaggi is a native of Ishagamu in Ogun State but born in Ikene in Ogun state. At a young age, he took an interest in acting drama as influenced by his late father who was a drama teacher. He is notable for his satirical plays which he shared on Instagram. Broda Shaggi is also a singer and actor who has starred in major Nollywood blockbusters like Namaste Wahala and Fate of Alakada.?Broda Shaggi has about 11.5 million followers on Instagram and 3.7 million followers on TikTok.

?h.????Aproko Doctor

Aproko Doctor, whose real name is Bobby Egemba, is a Nigerian medical doctor, social media influencer, and content creator. He is known for his informative and educational posts on social media, where he dispenses advice on health-related issues in a fun and relatable way. Aproko Doctor’s unique approach to health education has earned him a massive following, and he is quickly becoming one of the most influential voices in the Nigerian health space. Aproko Doctor has more than 900 thousand followers on Instagram and about 1.1 million followers on TikTok.

i.??????Kiekie

KieKie, whose real name is Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori is a content creator, TV & event host, brand influencer, and actress, who has gained popularity for her humorous skits, usually cantered around Nigerians’ daily experiences. With over 2 million followers on Instagram, KieKie has become one of Nigeria’s most sought-after content creators. Kiekie has about 2.2 million followers on Instagram and about 1.6 million followers on TikTok.

5.0 Accessibility of Online Content and its Challenges

We live in an age where digital contents transcend borders, but highly diverse communities worldwide have different infrastructures, resources, and access to digital technology[6].?The extent to which online audiences can access digital content is paramount in today’s world. Digital content and interfaces also enable people with disabilities to access information, services, and other resources. And as the world becomes more connected, accessibility becomes even more significant in a global context[7].

i.????????????????Lack of clarity on legal requirement

ii.??????????????The dynamic nature of the Internet

iii.????????????Limits of Technology[8]

6.0 Anti-Piracy Measures under the Nigerian Copyright Act, 2022.

?The Act introduced measures to ensure that content creators are protected from unauthorized copying, downloading, or distribution of online content.

?a.????Section 50 prohibits the circumvention of technological protection measures, while Section 52 empowers anyone whose work has been infringed under section 50 and 51 to institute an action before a court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress for damages, accounts, or injunction.

b.????Section 54 provides for the protection of online contents and actions that can be taken where there seems to be an infringement on such contents or works. These actions revolve around the creator of the content, service provider and subscriber.

c.?????The creator is empowered to issue a notice of infringement (in writing) to the relevant service provider requesting a take down or deactivation of a link to any infringing content, hosted on its systems or network.

d.????The service provider is obliged to take down the infringing content after 48 hours of notice, if the subscriber fails to provide any information justifying the continued keeping of the infringing content on its system or networks.

e.?????Section 55 states that the service provider upon receiving notice of infringement from a purported copyright owner or creator must notify the subscriber to take the infringing content down or disable access to it.

f.?????Where this has been done, he must report back to the copyright owner or creator.

g.????The service provider equally has the right to resume such content where the air has been cleared as regards the infringement of the work.

h.????The service provider has also been vested with the authority to ensure that such infringing content after being taken down, is not reloaded into the network, send warning, suspends account, or disable such subscriber whom despite being aware of the infringement still intend to or reload such content.

i.??????The service provider is further mandated to notify the Nigerian Copyright Commission (the “Commission”) of such takedown.

j.?????The Act empowers the Commission (by itself or with the assistance of any other person) to block or disable access to any content, link or website hosted on a system or network, which it reasonably believes to infringe copyright.

k.????Where a service provider fails to adhere to his obligations or comply with these rules, he shall be deemed to be liable for breach of statutory duty as provided in section 55(6)?of the Act.

l.??????However, if he adheres to the provisions of these sections, he shall not be liable to any person for any action taken in good faith.

7.0 Section 11 of the Nigerian Copyright Act, 2022.

To mitigate against digital piracy and challenges associated with making digital content accessible to the audience, the Copyright Act 2022 in section 11 provides explicit protection for audio-visual works in digital content, which means that online or digital content including audio-visuals, pictures, videos, sound recordings, and other productions cannot be copied, downloaded, or distributed without the consent of the creator. The section grants creators the right, amongst others, to take measures against online infringements of copyright works.

8.0 Conclusion

Social media boom and the increased internet penetration is a major source of growth for digital or online content creation. Digital content creation is gaining rapid recognition and prominence due to the increased number of internet users and rise of platforms as well as its lucrative career path. To gain the benefits of digital or online content, the creator is required to make the content as accessible as possible to the audience. Sections 11 and 54 of the Nigerian Copyright Act 2022 introduced novel provisions that protects the intellectual property of content creator by making it illegal for anyone to copy, download, or distribute a digital content without the permission of the creator. By virtue of these provisions an action can be instituted against such infringer. An obligation is also placed on the creator of the content to issue a notice of infringement (in writing) to the relevant service provider requesting a take down or deactivation of a link to any infringing content, hosted on its systems or network. ?The service provider is obliged to take down the infringing content after 48 hours of being notified.

[1] (4) Mobile-First Design: Implementation and Execution | LinkedIn

[2] https://www.dstv.com/africamagic/en-ng/show/amvca/season/8/news/here-s-the-full-list-of-winners-amvca-8/news

[3] https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/nigerias-comedy-industry-joking-billions-mba-acca-mcips-/

[4] https://www.semrush.com/blog/digital-content-creation/

[5] https://hallmarknews.com/nigerias-entertainment-industry-to-gross-15-billion-by-2025/

[6] https://www.accessibility.com/blog/the-state-of-global-digital-accessibility-current-challenges-and-opportunities

[7] https://www.accessibility.com/blog/the-state-of-global-digital-accessibility-current-challenges-and-opportunities

[8] https://moz.com/blog/state-of-digital-accessibility