The COSON boss said this while speaking at a media conference held at the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) in Lagos on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 where six suspects arrested during a midnight raid of the market were paraded.
Okoroji explained that every attempt to get the market association at Alaba to curb the amount of copyright infringement in the market proved abortive as warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
Several pirated products, machines and other equipment used in the illegal trade were also seized in the recent raid.
‘The Commission is ready to pursue the pirates day and night until Alaba market is cleaned up. All those who are bent on stealing the fruits of other peoples’ sweat will have to face the new Nigerian Copyright Commission which is bent on “enforcement, enforcement and enforcement’, NCC Deputy Director, Enforcement, Mar. A. A. Amodu said.
‘We do not have anything against the people doing legitimate business at Alaba International market but the good people have been tarnished by the criminals in their midst and the market association continues to protect them. While young Nigerian musicians and actors are working day and night to produce great works, these criminals are busy reaping where they did not sow. This wicked act must be stopped to encourage the creativity of our youths who are doing the nation proud’, Okoroji said.
Meanwhile, Okoroji is still pushing for criminal sanctions against broadcasters of unlicensed music in the Nigeria. Okoroji made the call at the recently held one-day Workshop on the Reform of Intellectual Property Laws in Nigeria put together by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Okoroji reminded the audience that piracy is not just the unauthorized reproduction of CDs, music cassettes and other carriers of content but includes the unlicensed broadcast of music and sound recordings and the unauthorized offering of such content on the internet.
‘It has become necessary for the nation to think of providing special courts to deal with intellectual property cases because of the specialized training required by the judges who must resolve the very complex issues that surround IP matters. While that might be in the longer term, special judges of the Federal High Court may be designated to handle IP cases while the use of experts to resolve thorny issues has become absolutely essential’, Okoroji said.
In January 2011, COSON wrote a letter to president Goodluck asking him to revoke the licenses of popular radio stations Cool FM and Wazobia FM claiming the company went against the nation’s broadcast code.
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