WHAT MUSICIANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT COPYRIGHT LAW IN NIGERIA
By FSAdmin
Copyright is a legal term used to describe the rights that creatives have over their literary, musical or artistic works. It is a type of intellectual property that confers exclusive right on the copyright owner and excludes any other person from reproducing or exploiting the work without the authorization of the copyright owner. Creators of designated works, in this instance, musicians must have made sufficient effort in addition to the work being fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which it can be perceived or reproduced before they can be protected under the law. For instance, recording a song in an audio file or writing down the notation of a score amounts to fixation.
It is worth mentioning that the two works which emanate from the recording of a song that are protected by copyright are the musical works and sound recording. These works, being owned separately and made subject to different rules are protected and licensed separately.
This article shall delve into the rights accruable to the owner of a musical composition, exploitation of these rights as well as the protection of their work
