Good morning Everyone .

My name is Idowu Olaoluwa . An entertainment lawyer , music critic and writer based in Lagos . On this thread , I will be teaching and exposing record labels , artistes and Creatives to the fundamentals of intellectual property in Nigeria , How to Properly make income through royalties and licensing from their craft , How to avoid signing bad contracts , the types of contracts an artistes needs to sign , merchandizing and a lot of other things .

If you are a creative , Recording artiste , record label owner , A/R , show promoter or involved in the music business one way or another , this is the thread for you .

am here with you

THE CREATIVES DILEMMA

• Aisha is a baker. She makes various cake designs that she posts online. Aisha made this particular cake design that went viral on Social media and she received many accolades online and offline for the beautiful cake she made . Few months later , Foluke makes a cake that a lot of people believe is a replica of Aisha's viral Cake design . Same design and everything except the colour of the cake . Foluke insists since it's a different colour , she did not copy Aisha and Aisha should stop disturbing her to take down the picture of her own cake she posted She further stated to Aisha that there's nothing she can Do to her .

• At the end of it all, Aisha felt folake was right. After all, it wasn't the same cake colour and she added a bit of twist to her own cake design and even though she knew very well that folake copied her idea, she was going to leave everything to God.

The Creatives Dilemma

Kunle aka Yoyo Poppy is a very talented upcoming artiste . Despite numerous features, his songs been featured on tv shows and thousands of streams on music streaming Servicess , kunle has not made a dime from his music. At his last show before the Corona virus pandemic, kunle could not perform despite arriving the venue on time .The technical difficulties on the organizers part led to the cancellation of the show . The organizers however insisted that since he did not perform as stated, he wasn't entitled to any money . He was not paid a dime .

• His friend, MJiggy is also facing serious financial crisis after his record deal with a record label took another turn due to a clause in the recording contract he ignorantly signed.

Following

The Creatives Dilemma

• Oke is a music producer . In 2019, he produced a smash hit track titled " Jump In" for an A list artiste in Nigeria . In 2020, a big company wanted to use the Instrumentals and composition of the song in their video games and contacted the artist he produced the song for. The artiste was paid over 20 million naira but Oke never got a Dime. The artiste claimed he had paid Oke his " production " fees and he is the sole owner of the song . Thus, he wasnt going to give Oke anything after he has bought and paid Oke fully for the song production .

Synord:
The Creatives Dilemma

• Oke is a music producer . In 2019, he produced a smash hit track titled " Jump In" for an A list artiste in Nigeria . In 2020, a big company wanted to use the Instrumentals and composition of the song in their video games and contacted the artist he produced the song for. The artiste was paid over 20 million naira but Oke never got a Dime. The artiste claimed he had paid Oke his " production " fees and he is the sole owner of the song . Thus, he wasnt going to give Oke anything after he has bought and paid Oke fully for the song production .

following

Synord:
The Creatives Dilemma

• Oke is a music producer . In 2019, he produced a smash hit track titled " Jump In" for an A list artiste in Nigeria . In 2020, a big company wanted to use the Instrumentals and composition of the song in their video games and contacted the artist he produced the song for. The artiste was paid over 20 million naira but Oke never got a Dime. The artiste claimed he had paid Oke his " production " fees and he is the sole owner of the song . Thus, he wasnt going to give Oke anything after he has bought and paid Oke fully for the song production .

This seems most interesting.

One thing common to all these people and their stories is that they displayed total Ignorance of their Intellectual rights and were accordingly exploited. These scenarios are sadly a normal occurrence among creatives in Nigeria . Creatives are exploited of their fundamental benefits and deprived of the enjoyment of the rewards from their talent and their sleepless nights.

• Creatives are denied the fruits of their labour as they wallow in the sheer ignorance of basic facts about their talent and craft

• This is what the series is aimed at correcting . Correcting the anomaly of ignorance among creatives towards their intellectual property rights.

WHO IS A CREATIVE ?

A Creative can simply be defined as an individual that creates , establishes, designs, crafts or develops an idea, concept into a tangible and accessible form based on the originality and uniqueness of their thoughts . Creative creates by exhibiting skill through talent or knowledge or both . Once you create something original or unique in whatever field , you are a Creative .

• Recording Artistes , Dancers, Painters , Sculptors , Programmers , Videographers , Photographers, , Sound Engineers , Music producers, Artiste and Repertoire ( A/R), Song Writers, Interpreters, Authors, Fashion designers, Spoken Words Artistes and Video directors among others are Creatives.

What is Intellectual Property ?

• There is no universal definition for Intellectual property. . Intellectual property can however be defined as the rights vested in a creator over his Intellectual creation and protected by the law preventing others from exploiting the creation without the Creator's due authorization and allowing the creator to enjoy rewards and benefits from such Intellectual creation without hindrance from third parties.

• You used your " Intellect "in creating something thus whatever you created using your Intellect is your " property," . Another person cannot come and claim that what you spent your time and effort making belongs to them . Intellectual property recognizes the Creator as the Lord and master of their own works and allows the person to enjoy his/her work and use it as he/she wishes provided it is not against stated laws.

• Nobody has the right to use your creation or work without due permission and approval from You .

RELEVANT ASPECTS OF IP TO CREATIVES

• There are a lot of aspects under Intellectual property Law but As Creatives and in line with the vision of this series, we will be majorly dealing with the aspects that are quite relevant to Creatives .

• 1) Copyright - which includes Literary works like (articles , books) , music , , computer programs , paintings , videos etc. Like the name implies , a Copyright gives you the power to determine who reproduces, uses , assigns or distributes your works.

• Your songs , written lyrics , the computer program you developed , your sound recording on your phone can all enjoy the Benefits provided under Copyright, an aspect under Intellectual Property Law. Copyright is so important and essential . Later in the series , we will examine Copyright fully using the cases of Tekno versus Danfo drivers and Danny Young Vs Tiwa Savage to get a proper grasp of the concept .

2) Trademarks - Trademark covers names of individuals and Brand e.g Shomolu Hairs , Slogans of brands, symbols, Catchphrases etc.The main essence of trademarks is to legally distinguish your brand from others with regards to the good and services you offer. Artistes can trademark their stage names to prevent other Artistes from using the name .

Some recording Artistes have suffered some losses due to this e.g Nigerian artiste Poe had to change his name to ladi Poe, Santi to cruel Santino, nigga raw to mr Raw . We will talk more about this later on in the series

Following! keep on the good work. We are learning

3) Industrial Designs - Industrial design is the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of a useful article which may consist of the shape, pattern and / or color of the article and must appeal to the eye . In simpler terms , industrial designs deals with the appearance of a product..A perfect example is tailoring designs. Fashion designers, ,architectural works , bead makers , makers of toys , majorly anyone doing something relating to Craft and product design enjoys this aspect of intellectual property.3)

4) Patents -is the intellectual property aspect that deals with inventions and innovations of a person e.g someone that invents a machine that can erase human memory completely or chemical that can be used to soften beans in 3 minutes can be said to have created something new. If you have invented something unique that you feel no one has created before , you qualify to enjoy patent rights which is an aspect of Intellectual property

CREATIVES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• 1) Copyright - Writers, Songwriters, Singers, Performers, Spoken word Artistes , Instrumentalist, Programmers , Photographers

• 2) Trademark - Graphic designers , Songwriters , Comedians , Presenters, Athletes, ,
• 3) Industrial Design - Fashion designers , Sculptors , Architects , Product Designers

• 4) Patents- Scientists, Researchers.

BenDanor:
Following! keep on the good work. We are learning

Thank you . I will keep updating !!

ARE THESE ASPECTS GUIDED BY LAW IN NIGERIA ? WHY DO I HAVE TO BE CONCERNED?

• Yes . As a creative with works that fall under any of the categories of Intellectual property rights, it is pertinent you note that there are laws that guides and recognizes your benefits as a creative and also protect the rights imbedded in your works once you activate these rights in a manner provided under these laws. Some of these laws are

• 1) Copyright - Nigerian Copyright Act Cap C28 , Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004

• 2) Trademarks- Trademarks Act Cap T13 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004

• 3) Industrial Design - Patents and Design Act Cap P2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004

• 4) Patent - Patents and Design Act Cap P2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004

WHAT QUALIFIES MY WORK TO ENJOY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ?


• 1) Copyright - What Qualifies your work to enjoy copyright is that you created it . It is your original expression and you put in sufficient and evident effort , skill and time into creating that work . Once you created something and you can claim that creation was made by you and you did some thinking and subsequent actual work to bring that your thought to life , then You are entitled to enjoy copyright because you have used your intellect via thinking and actions in producing that work . Creatives do not need to register copyright to enjoy this Intellectual property right.

• 2) Trademarks - Works that will be Trademarked must not be deceptive or contrary to law or morality . They must not be confusingly similar or identical to a famous mark and must be shown to relate to the Creator's goods and services distinctively and be for commercial exploitation .


• 3) Industrial Design - An industrial design that include s combination of lines, colours or both; any three-dimensional forms (whether or not associated with colours) intended by the creator to be used as a model or pattern to be multiplied by an industrial process qualifies for the benefits under industrial Design .

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WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AS A CREATIVE ?

• 1) Get Rewarded for your efforts and investment in your Creative works.
• 2) Be Protected from Exploitation of your Creative works without your prior permission and consent.
• 3) "Secure the Bag" for your children and generations to come as Intellectual property rights survives the creator and subsists even after death.
• 4) Have a upper hand and legal backing in the event of a law suit or action against you by another person
• 5) Ability to Seek Further investments and support from well known Brands and companies once the IP rights are properly documented

WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AS A CREATIVE ?

• 6) Control over how income is earned from your works and the direction it is used.
• 7) Ability to Seek redress in the Court of Law upon Infringement .
• Ability to handle basic contractual transactions as Creatives.
• 9) Ability to educate and assist other creatives ignorant of their rights.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS INFRINGED UPON ?

• Consult with An Intellectual Property lawyer .

We are now moving to phase two of the series .
I hope someone has learnt a thing or two about entertainment law and intellectual property in Nigeria .

Ip Series Soon .

We will begin the Copyright Class now .

Thanks for staying tuned .

If you have any question on royalties , Copyright, Music contracts , record deals , streaming income , Intellectual property, your rights as a musician , etc . Please Don’t hesitate to ask .

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We are kick-starting the second leg of this series as from the 1st of July, 2021 . Thank You for the patience and cooperation thus far .

BASIC INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHT

Ade aka JiggyJaga is an upcoming artiste . He made a song in 2004 titled " Owo". In 2019, he discovered that a Nollywood movie titled " Original Boys" used the Song as the sound track of the movie . He is elated and excited and calls all his friends , begging them to stream the movie and listen to his song on it . His friends are excited and congratulate him for the " landmark" achievement. Meanwhile , jiggyjaga was never consulted before his song was used nor given a dime for the use of his song in the movie . Little does he know , he could have earned hundreds of thousands of naira from royalties off the movie or licensing the song to the movie makers or alternatively subsequent litigation damages he would get from suing them in court ... He is however satisfied with the supposed " Exposure" the movie has given him.