NEWS

Monday 5 November 2012

Proposed Nollywood CMO: Chief Okoroji Calls For Collective Bargaining

Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria, (COSON), the nation’s sole approved collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings has called for cooperation and mutual understanding in the establishment of the proposed Collective Management Organisation, (CMO) for the Nigerian movie industry. According to him selfish interest and personal gains should be discarded by all parties to ensure success of the CMO from take off. 


The establishment of the proposed CMO he stated can help the unity of the industry. He said “Collective management cannot solve all the problems of the movie industry but it can help the industry speak more and more with one voice and create a lot more wealth for the practitioners. For an effective collective management system to evolve in the Nigerian film industry, a system that will make the likes of Hubert Ogunde happy where ever, they may be, the different practitioners, guilds and associations must understand that it is far better to come together and jaw-jaw rather than war-war.
"Everyone concerned must allow give-and-take and show some patience in the evolution of a model that adequately addresses the unique Nigerian situation.”

In a bid to ensure that its members and other stake holders reap the fruit of their labour and enjoy copyright royalties on their movies, soundtracks, etc, the Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP) in partnership with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, (FIAPF) recently put together an initiative to help practitioners hear from experts on the nitty-gritty of the essence or otherwise of the concept of collective management in the Nigerian movie industry.

Tagged “A Forum on Copyright and Growth in Nollywood” the initiative was basically aimed at proffering insights into the possible formation of a collective management organization that will set the machinery for the royalty collection in Africa’s biggest movie industry.

Delivering a paper titled ‘The Nigerian Film Sector and its related Copyright Challenges” Chief Tony Okoroji, said the growth and achievement of Nollywood in the world has made it more pertinent that the issue of royalty payment is of paramount importance but “caution” he advised must be taken in its establishment.

Highlighting the success of COSON in it’s barely two years of existence, Chief Okoroji stressed his conviction that a CMO for Nollywood can indeed function. “From what I have seen COSON do in so short a time, I cannot but support the emergence a CMO for the Nigerian audio visual industry for several reasons. With increased bandwidth in the internet age and the exploding capability for live streaming and downloading of movies, it is inconceivable how any individual producer can monitor the proliferating use of his works, license such use and earn revenue from the use. 
"One of the significant streams of income expected in the creative industries in Nigeria soon is the private copying levy provided for in Section 40 of the Nigerian Copyright Act which implementation is expected to start in 2013. Without a strong CMO in the industry, I see no way that any practitioner in the Nigerian Movie industry can benefit from the levy scheme which is already running reasonably well in Ghana. I also believe that with the big broadcast networks that offer filmmakers ‘take it or leave it’ contracts, collective management gives the industry much stronger muscle to negotiate better terms and protect the interest of the stakeholders”

Other speakers at the event include the FIAPF representative, Mr. Betrand Moullier who took the participants through the essence of rights in the film industry worldwide. Others include, lawyer and coordinator,Wetin lawyers dey do sef, Barr. Efere Ozako, Chief Gab Okoye, Chairman Board of Trustee, ANCOP among many others.

FOR: COSON
CHIBUEZE OKEREKE MOSES
Head, Media Communications and Strategy
(08054104117)

No comments:

Post a Comment