NCC Intensifies Piracy Crackdownin Rivers, Sensitises Schools, Bookshops

ITODE AKARI

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has intensified its sensitization and monitoring campaign aimed at discouraging the purchase and sale of pirated materials across the country, particularly in schools and bookshops.

NCC Director in Port Harcourt Directorate Office, Mr. Abdul-Salami Babatunde, stated this while leading officials of the Commission on an inspection tour of select high-profile schools and major markets in Rivers State.

Addressing members of various school management teams, Mr. Babatunde noted that infringement on the rights of authors and publishers undermines the growth of intellectual property, a challenge the NCC, under the leadership of its Director-General, Dr. John Asein, is determined to eliminate.

He emphasized that willful copyright violations attract severe criminal penalties, including imprisonment, as provided under the Copyright Act.

Mr. Babatunde urged school proprietors and booksellers to shun pirated materials and support the Commission’s drive against the menace.

“The continuous sensitization and monitoring exercise is one of the efforts by the NCC to stamp out these criminal elements and stop them from cashing out from the handiwork of the original owners of the intellectual properties. It is a crime and anyone caught indulging in the act will face the wrath of the law,” Mr. Babatunde warned.

He further stressed that perpetrators of piracy would be forced out of business when they are no longer patronized, advising school owners to be vigilant about the publishers who supply books to their schools.

“My team and I visited about eight schools in the Port Harcourt metropolis,namely Excellent Montessori School, Spring Valley International School, Brilliant Secondary School, Brain Forte International School, among others, to sensitize them that it is no more business as usual.

They know the real publishers and should not cut corners in order to make big profits by patronizing pirated books,” the NCC Director said.

The NCC team also visited several bookshops and outlets in the Mile 3 Market, Port Harcourt, where they sensitized dealers on the dangers of engaging in piracy.

During the inspection of their purchase invoices, Mr. Babatunde urged book traders to buy directly from recognized publishers or their authorized agents to avoid legal repercussions.

“You as business men and women should know it is not right to stampede another person’s source of livelihood, and that is why NCC wants you all to join in the fight to protect the rights of genuine publishers and authors in Rivers State and the country at large,” Mr. Babatunde stated.

The Director reaffirmed that the sensitization and monitoring exercise will continue until piracy, which threatens the integrity of the nation’s intellectual property, is completely eradicated.