#digital Archives - Tech | Business | Economy

Protections for Content Creators as Buhari Signs Copyright Bill into Law

Justice Godfrey Okamgba — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:40:34 +0000

Content creators in Nigeria must be breathing some fresh air after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Copyright Bill 2022 into law.

There have been cases of unauthorized use or reproduction of someone else’s creative work, ranging from copying, distributing, displaying, and performing, to creating derivative works of the original work without obtaining the necessary permissions or licenses from the copyright owner.

This infringement can occur in many different mediums, including books, music, film, photographs, and software.

Before using or reproducing copyrighted works, it is critical to respect and protects the intellectual property rights of others and to obtain the necessary permissions or licenses.

Recall that Nigeria’s copyright legislation was enacted in 1988, and it has been amended several times since then to address new issues in copyright law. Literary, artistic, musical, and audiovisual works, as well as computer programs and databases, are all protected under the law.

However, in a statement signed by Nasiru Baballe Ila, SSA to Buhari on national assembly matters (house of representatives), the President signed the bill into law on March 17.

The Copyright Act 2022, which repeals the Act of 2004, provides effective administration, regulation, enforcement, and protection of copyright in the digital environment.

“The principal objectives of the new law as outlined in Section One are to: protect the rights of authors and ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts, provide appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works, facilitate Nigeria’s compliance with obligations arising from relevant international copyright treaties and conventions; and enhance the capacity of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for effective regulation, administration, and enforcement,” the statement reads.

The Act provides a broad explanation of copyright, ranging from literary, musical, artistic, audiovisual, sound recordings, and broadcast works. The legislation expands the rights of authors, raises the sanctions for criminal infringements, and addresses the challenges posed by the digital and online use of copyrighted works.

The law provides explicit protection for audio-visual works in digital content, which means online content including pictures, videos, sound recordings, and other productions can’t be used without the consent of the creators.

Section 20 of the Act, however, lists the exemptions to which a creator can sue for copyright.

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“4 People Tweeting in a Room” are Disrupting Nigeria’s Political Space

Justice Godfrey Okamgba — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 14:43:40 +0000

The unfolding events are beginning to show that Nigeria’s politics may be tilting toward digital. Online support will equate to offline support. Online political campaigns will equate to offline campaigns.

Social media are powerful tools depending on how effective you can make them work for you. Be it business, politics, religion, etc., they work. From a political standpoint, the recent presidential election in Nigeria has proven that social media remain sacrosanct.

In 2021, there were approximately 43 million social network users in Nigeria, and this figure is projected to grow to 103 million users in 2026, according to Statista.

During the electioneering process, Nigerian youths campaigned rigorously for their preferred candidates. These relentless youths, popularly known as “Obidients” unanimously rendered their support to billionaire businessman Peter Obi in a bid to disrupt the political space.

The former Governor of Anambra State who became the flag bearer of the Labour Party and arguably the most preferred candidate according to several reports enjoyed an avalanche of good wills from the teeming Nigerian youths who are ready to ‘take a bullet’ for him from the opposition.

Obidients are all over the Internet space to either brand Mr. Obi as the best or vehemently refute any demeaning posts or remarks from the opposition – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against him.

On social media, these “structureless youths” organized conferences and meetings to discuss how to dismantle an already existing institutionalized political process that has not yielded any positive.

Strategy sessions were held. Mr. Obi’s supporters raised funds, designed banners, and got influencers and volunteers who were able to push the goal offline. Emphatically, these activities gradually transcended offline. In a few months, the opposition started feeling the heat from all angles.

On several occasions, the opposition parties who are conspicuously glued to the old style of politics disregarded how powerful Obidients can be. They made comments like “you can not win an election on social media,” “they are just online people,” and Obidients have no structure,” etc. Social media just proved all those theories wrong.

In an interview on September 2022, the then National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole (now Senator-elect), said Obidients were just “4 persons tweeting in a room. This phrase has been used by Obidients to mock opposition whenever they pull out large crowds offline for Mr. Obi’s campaign.

Oshiomhole said:

“These Obidients of disobedience time will tell. We now live in a world where we can have 4 young men and women in one room, whether motivated or not motivated. They can churn out 1 million stories using different names. You need to find out that this whole thing is being done in one room. Time will tell.”

https://twitter.com/Ebenplusworld/status/1629460660143759362

Till date, the Obidients have been waxing stronger, leveraging social media to get things done. Mr. Obi’s candidacy has shown that politics has gone digital. Just as the local grassroots are important, digital grassroots are also vital.

From the last presidential election, it’s clear that social media can influence the political space of any society, challenging the narrative that one needs to have structure. If a candidate has strong support online, such a person is likely to have support offline.

At the polls on February 25, 2023, the Obidients who kickstarted the journey online came out en masse to cast their votes. The outcome has been impressive. Some of the old politicians who underestimated the power of social media lost the elections. Some of these positions were lost to Obidients‘ Labour Party.

Specifically, the presidential election was allegedly marred with irregularities that were exposed by the Obidients. At several polling units where Obidients supposedly won, they made videos and shared them on social media. They also shared videos of where manipulations and thuggery occurred. These videos went viral on the Internet. The world was able to see these exhibits.

Expectedly, the election was described as unfair, controversial, and largely flawed by both local and international media. While several petitions at the law court have been flying here and there. All of these were made possible by the Obidients who understood the power of social media. The battle has just begun, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out, eventually.

More importantly, it is high time public officeholders became more accountable and regain the trust of the Nigerian youth who has clearly made up his/her mind to bring your political careers to a halt.

The economy must start working; the business environment must be friendly enough, public funds must be used appropriately for the public good, amongst other things that make up good governance.

Otherwise, “these four men Tweeting in a room’, could rock your political boats.

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AfricaTechFestival: Key Takeaways from Panel Session on Satellite Redefined | by Tinuade Oguntuyi

Admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2022 16:34:02 +0000

There is potential to apply space technology in various areas in Africa. Satellite technology can be applied in agriculture, transport, urban planning, environmental management, disaster management and natural resource management.

Of course, international wars have moved from the ground borders to the territorial space, with the support of satellite technology hence African countries, which already have over 48 satellites in space, cannot afford to play in silos. There is urgent need to collaborate to grow local content in satellite technology and to protect the African territorial space.

The UN-affiliated regional centres in Morocco and Nigeria have trained several hundred Africans in these areas.

In addition, some African countries have procured small satellites, mostly through the help of academic or commercial institutions abroad. But, technology transfer must happen for the benefits to become more obvious.

Similarly, panelists at the just concluded Africa Tech Festival in South Africa agreed that ‘satellite technology should be viewed as complementary rather than competitive in addressing Africa’s demands’.

Tinuade Oguntuyi, the head of Network and Solutions, Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL) moderated the session that discussed “Satellite Redefined – Africa is forging its path into space”.

The panelists are:

Abymbola Alale, Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited
Rakesh Kukreja, founder I-SAT group
Abdallah Nassar, Chief Engineering and Network Officer (Orange Cameroun )
Sophia Farrar, Lead Partnership GIGA (UNICEF and ITU initiative)

Important takeaways from the panel discussion as enumerated by Tinuade:

1. Every player in the space economy—operators, providers, regulators, and the government—should consider their role in the value chain as distinct yet collaborative

2. Adopting a communal consumption culture will reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) for satellite communications.

3. Satellite technology should be viewed as complementary rather than competitive in addressing Africa’s demands

4. To facilitate the deployment and upkeep of satellite communications, the right laws and rules should exist

5. Satellite is crucial for connecting schools globally and in Africa.

6. All other communication platform, including fiber optics, microwave technology, and SIM, can be used to ensure that satellite deployment is successful.

7. Satellite will play a vital role where other forms of communication can’t, particularly in hard to reach communities.

8. Africa should intentionally focus on applicability and adaptation rather than copying and pasting solutions.

Source: Tinuade Oguntuyi/LinkedIn

In her concluding remarks, Tinuade said, “True, LEO Satellite is here; let’s start approaching the adoption of cutting-edge technology through the prism of its commercial viability, applicability, and safety”.

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