Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
Copyright is one of the several intellectual property rights that accrues to authors of literary and creative works at the point of creation. Several legal frameworks such as the Berne Convention, WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the Nigeria Copyright Act have all been enacted for the purpose of recognizing and protecting these rights both at the international and local scene. Unfortunately, with the emergence of digital age, characterized by digital technologies such the internet, scanner, digital cameras smartphones, smart televisions, e-book, social media etc., has cause strain in copyright protection due to the relative ease of replication, manipulation, reproduction and dissemination of copyrighted materials in digital formats within the digital space. This paper, identified the following as the major challenges confronting copyright protection in the digital age; the ease in reproduction of copyrighted material, the ease in sharing & distribution of copyrighted, the availability of compact storage devices, and the challenge of detecting or tracing the sources of such infringement due to the apparent similarity between the original and the duplicate copies. The paper acknowledges the legislative response from international scene as well as local scene in addressing this social menace, particularly the WCT, WTTP and Copyright (Optical Disc Plant) Regulation. However, it was noted that current local copyright regime is inadequate to address the challenge. This paper recommends that authors and creators of creative media content in Nigeria should in addition to these legal frameworks, adopt independent modern technological measures such as block chain and watermarking technology to protect their work and prevent undue exploitation.