1. How can COSON help me?
Music copyright is a complex and often times a confusing subject. COSON is available to help you answer questions about your music and copyright.

2. How does my song become copyrighted?
There is no requirement whatsoever for registration of copyright in Nigeria .  Your work   automatically acquires copyright once it is created and is put  in a tangible and fixed 
form which is easily recognizable.  For example, when your song is written as sheet music, in sol-fa  notation or recorded in a tape or CD or your phone etc, it begins to enjoy copyright. There is no copyright registry in Nigeria . Registration of copyright is against  the Berne convention which Nigeria is a signatory to.

3. Must I still put a copyright notice on published copies of my work?
Not necessary, as its omission will not cause a loss of copyright protection. Putting the copyright notice is purely voluntary. However, the good thing about the copyright notice on a piece of your work is that an infringer cannot claim ignorance of the original owner of the work.  Copyright notice could appear in the following forms: "(c)" or "Copyright" or "Copr."

4. What works are eligible for copyright?
i. Literary ii. Musical iii. Artistic iv. Cinematograph film v. Photographs vi. Sound recordings vii. Broadcasts

5. How long does a copyright run?
This depends on the type of work. According to the First Schedule of the Nigerian Copyright Act (as amended), copyright expires as follows:

·     Literary, musical or artistic works other than photographs:  70 years after the end of  
       the year in which the author dies;

• Cinematograph films and photographs: 50 years after the end of the year in which the work was first published.
• Sound recordings: 50 years after the end of the end of the year in which the recording was first made.

·    Broadcasts: 50 years after the end of the end of the year in which the broadcast first  
      took place

6. If I collaborate with one or more writers, how is the term of copyright measured?
In the case of joint authorship, the 70-year period start counting from the date of the death of the last surviving collaborator.

7. Who owns copyright in a commissioned work and copyright in employment?
It used to be the case that when a work is commissioned by another, the person who commissioned the work will automatically own the copyright in the work. That no longer is the situation in Nigeria . Where a work is commissioned by a person who is not the author's employer under a contract of service or apprenticeship, the copyright will belong to the author except the parties agree otherwise in writing. The significance of this development should not be lost to an organization whose business involves the commissioning of works eligible for copyright. A good example is the advertising agency. An advertising agency may assume that copyright in the radio and television jingles or newspaper copies commissioned by the agency, automatically belongs to the agency or its clients. This assumption may not be based on Nigerian law. Any agency that wishes to have the freedom to use a work, would be advised to enter into  contract with the author assigning the copyright in the work, to the agency. If there is no written agreement between the author of the work and the agency, transferring the copyright, the agency might face a lawsuit if it goes ahead to reproduce, publish or broadcast the work.

Copyright in Employment
Again, it used to be the case that when a work is produced by an employee while in employment, copyright in the work  would automatically belong to his or her employer. That is not the case anymore. Where a work is made in the course  of the author's employment, the copyright will belong, in the first instance, to the author.

Once again, all employers whose activities involve the production of a substantial amount of materials eligible for copyright, need to understand the implications of the law. Unless the contract of employment, or any other contract between the employer and the employee, specifically provides for transfer of the copyright to the employer, the first  owner of the copyright will be the employee who creates the work. Any use of the work by the employer without the authorization of the employee may result in a law suit.  (Culled from Copyright and Neighboring Rights – Twist and turn in Nigeria by Tony Okoroji)

7. How is copyright assigned?
Copyright is assigned when the rights of the copyright owner are legally transferred to someone else. The initial owner, known as the assignor surrenders control of the works to a new person called the assignee. An assignment may be total or limited.

The law is clear that there can be no effective oral assignment of copyright. For an assignment to be effective, it must in writing. There is however no requirement that an assignment take any particular form or that any particular words be used. If there is a dispute, a court will construct the words used to determine if there indeed was an assignment. (Culled from Copyright and Neighboring Rights – Twist and turn in Nigeria by Tony Okoroji)

8. Does the copyright in a record protect the copyright in the song too?
No. There is a difference between copyright in sound recording and copyright in the musical work. The sound recording right protects the sound on the record while the musical work right protects the song.

The author of a sound recording is the person who made the arrangements for the making of the sound recording. 

Usually this is the person who bears the cost of the recording. In the music industry, the recording company was clearly the author and first owner of Copyright in most sound recordings of musical works in Nigeria . That was before the  amendment of the Copyright Act in 1992. The 1992 Amendments brought a fundamental change with respect to  authorship in sound recordings of musical works. Under the present regime, the artiste in whose name the record is issued to the public (the performer), is the author. The performer is therefore the first owner of copyright in a sound recording of a musical work, except the parties provide otherwise by contract.

The author of a musical work is the composer of the musical work or song. Where there are two or more composers,  the result is a work of joint authorship. The same is true where the creator of the words is different from the creator of  the melody. Both of these creators would be joint authors of the musical work. (Culled from Copyright and Neighboring Rights – Twist and turn in Nigeria by Tony Okoroji)

9. What is the difference between a performing right and mechanical right?
These are two distinctive rights granted to the copyright owner by Law. Whenever a song is played in such places as broadcasting stations, hotels, restaurants, clubs, airlines, buses, eateries or any public place that is commercially designated, the copyright owner is entitled to royalties by reason of his performing right. While mechanical right is the right to reproduce a piece of music onto records, tapes, CDs, MP3s or any other storage device. (Culled from Copyright and Neighboring Rights – Twist and turn in Nigeria by Tony Okoroji)

10. What is the difference between Moral rights and Economic rights?
Moral rights are rights aimed at protecting the reputation and dignity of the creator of a work. These rights ensure that no one claims authorship of a work which he has not authored. Such claim is known as plagiarism and treated with deep contempt in the artistic, academic, intellectual and media environments. Some persons consider these rights also known as Les droit moraux to be even more important than the economic rights.
Economic rights are the rights which the owner of copyright can exploit for economic benefits or commercial purposes. These are the most well known and discussed rights and are provided in Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, and 12 of the Nigerian Copyright Act. (Culled from Copyright and Neighboring Rights – Twist and turn in Nigeria by Tony Okoroji)