I and my friend happen to write a good script and we took it to some top producers in Nigeria and they all like it but as they found out that an NCC number is tagged on top they reply" We sorry we can't buy the script"

Why

Shalom!!!

What's an NCC number and how do I get one?

Baba Seun, I hail you pass, its the Nigerian Copyright Commission.As in got the Script Registered without incase someone steal the story,

How do you get a script registered and how much does it cost?

To get a script copyright notification, you have to go to Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC) office (their name has been changed to Nigerian Intellectual Property Commission though they still use the NCC name). Their Lagos office is at Costain, close to the National Theatre at Iganmu. However, copyright to your literary work is not registrable, at least that was what i was told when i did for a particular film script i wrote 3 yrs ago. Rather what you get is copyright notification, since the Copyright Act says any original work created by a person, automatically vests that person with copyright without any formality as registration. The commission only notifies your work in case of future infringement.

They currently issue a copyright certificate as opposed to the letter-headed copyright notification they used to issue in the past. Method of getting the certificate involves getting an application form from their office, paying a certain sum (can't remember but i think its 5, 000 naira now) to their official bank account, submitting copies of your literary work (4, i think), and that should be about it. They'll then tell you to come for your certificate on a particluar date and that's it. So you need to go to their office first.

Hope you found this useful.

However, if truth be told, most scripts in Nigeria today do not go through the Nigerian Copyrights Commission (a few do, though, but its not common). In the NCC, they are more used to issuing copyright notifications for literary materials (books).

Film works that get copyright notifications are those that have been already produced, and are in the format with which they will be in the market (i.e. VCDs, DVDs, and videotapes). And it is also one of the National Film and Video Censors Board requirement before approving any film work with censorship ratings.

Hmmm. Well at least it informs the producer that one is a serious writer, right?