ASHENEWS reports that the Nigerian Copyrights Commission (NCC) has signed an agreement with the Booksellers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) to address book piracy in the country.
The MoU was signed by the three parties on Thursday in Lagos.
Speaking shortly after signing the MOU, the Director General of the NCC, Dr. John Asein said that the MOU signifies a new dawn in the fight against piracy in Nigeria’s publishing industry.
Asein said that all parties, having signed the agreement have pledged to support one another in addressing the challenge of piracy.
“The commission will also use this alliance to fight piracy of intellectual works.
“There is no hidden place for piracy any longer in the industry, the commission will ensure it gets rid of piracy in society.
“The commission will continue to do its best to sanitize the industry and make it a profitable sector for relevant stakeholders,” he stated.
Asein proposed that all unions in the industry be unified to drive the collective interest of members.
“All stakeholders must operate under one umbrella in order to collectively fight piracy and to get rid of saboteurs in the industry,” he said.
In their respective remarks, the NPA And the Booksellers Association pledged their support to the initiative.
President of the Booksellers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Dare Oluwatoye commended the rapid progress in the industry in recent times under the supervision of the NCC.
“NCC has been proactive in addressing stakeholder’s challenges in the industry.
“They have been assertive in enforcing the law and very active and effective in their operations,” he said.
