Members of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) from different parts of the South East met at a big Stakeholders Forum at Rockview Hotel in Owerri, the capital of Imo State on Tuesday, October 29, 2019.

At the well-attended forum, the COSON Stakeholders called on Governor Emeka Ihedioha to redeem the promise made on behalf of the people of Imo State to the musicians of Nigeria by his predecessor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, to provide land for the construction of a remarkable COSON House in Owerri.

In the address of the COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji read on his behalf by a member of the Management Board, Hon John Ewelukwa Udegbunam, Chief Okoroji said, “A COSON House in Owerri will help us to start driving the immense potentials of the creative industry in this important part of the country”
The Forum also passed the following key resolutions:

1) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri extol the exemplary leadership of Chief Tony Okoroji, a proud son of Imo State, as Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria and praise him for his vision, sacrifice, continued and unequalled contribution to the growth of the Nigerian creative industry and pledge unflinching support to Chief Tony Okoroji’s leadership of COSON;

2) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri, express tremendous pride in COSON, a first-class organization emulated by many across the continent of which the Nigerian music industry is delighted and which organization has positioned itself to continue to provide succor now and in the future to all genuine persons within the Nigerian music industry;

3) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri, express support for the two-tier royalty distribution mechanism in COSON approved by the members with the general distribution ensuring that every member of the COSON family earns some income and the specific distribution guaranteeing that those whose works enjoy public acceptance earn income commensurate with such acceptance;

4) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri commend the COSON Board and Management for their steadfastness, maturity and comportment in the face of perfidy and for ensuring that COSON continues to be the best managed, most transparent and accountable organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry;

5) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri join music industry icons across the country to call on the Imo State Government to confer on the COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, one of the state’s highest honours for his several years of exemplary, fearless, faithful and fruitful service to his fatherland;

6) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri call on the leadership of the Nigerian Copyright Commission to be reminded that COSON continues to be the shining flagship of the Nigerian copyright system providing succor to thousands of people across the country and that the NCC was established to undertake those activities that uplift the lives of practitioners in the copyright sector and not to be seen in any way to be engaged in the narrow minded destruction of what is undeniably, the brightest institution ever built by the Nigerian creative industry;

7) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri call on the leadership of the Nigerian Copyright Commission to immediately remove each and every shackle placed on COSON so that the organization can continue to generate income for its thousands of members and continue to be a proud ambassador of the Nigerian nation in the international copyright community and an important vehicle for foreign investment in the Nigerian music industry;

8) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri send a warning to any Nigerian bank which has decided to collude with some bad elements within the nation’s music industry and who without any court order whatsoever or any genuine process of law, has decided to withhold copyright royalties belonging to innocent practitioners in the music industry and warn any such bank that there will be a substantial price to pay for such perfidy as the music industry in Nigeria is capable and willing to engage in massive and sustained campaign against such a bank.

9) That the COSON Stakeholders in Owerri warn that there is no law in Nigeria that grants anyone under any circumstance the right to the free use or deployment of the intellectual property belonging to free citizens in contravention of the constitutionally guaranteed rights of such citizens to earn income from the use or deployment of their property and requests that anyone who wishes to publicly or commercially deploy any of the large body of musical works or sound recordings in the repertoire of COSON must seek a COSON licence before any such use or deployment