What copyright means
Copyright is ownership of something you made.
Write an article, record a song, take a photograph, build a piece of software, and copyright arises automatically the moment the work is created and fixed in some tangible form. You do not have to register anything for the right to exist.
What it protects is the expression. Two photographers can shoot the same building lawfully. What neither may do is copy the other's photograph.
How it is used
For businesses, copyright matters in three ways.
First, owning what you paid for. A designer, developer or agency who creates work for you may retain the copyright unless the contract assigns it, which surprises businesses who assumed paying meant owning.
Second, licensing. Copyright can be licensed to others on terms, which is how stock images, music and software are commercialised.
Third, avoiding infringement. Using images, fonts, music or code you never licensed is the most common and most easily avoided form of business infringement.
Key features
- Arises automatically on creation, without registration
- Protects expression rather than ideas, facts or methods
- Lasts for a long fixed term, well beyond the creator's lifetime for many works
- Can be assigned or licensed, and assignments should be in writing
- Includes moral rights, such as the right to be identified as author
How this works in Nigeria
Copyright is governed by the Copyright Act, and the fact that it arises automatically is the point most people misunderstand. Registration is not what creates the right, though keeping a dated record makes proving authorship far easier if you ever need to.
The practical Nigerian issue is ownership of commissioned work. A business that commissions a logo, a website or a photo shoot and never took a written assignment may find the creator retains copyright. Getting that assignment at the point of payment costs nothing and is worth a great deal later.
Copyright vs trademark vs patent
Copyright protects original creative works and arises automatically.
A trademark protects brand identifiers such as names and logos, and requires registration in classes to be properly enforceable.
A patent protects an invention, requires registration and disclosure, and lasts for a limited term.
A logo sits across two of these. It can attract copyright as an artistic work and trademark protection as a brand identifier, and owning one does not give you the other.
Limits and risks
Copyright does not protect ideas, facts, names, titles or short phrases. Somebody can lawfully build a business on the same concept as long as they did not copy your actual work.
Enforcement is also on you. Nobody polices it automatically, and pursuing infringement takes time and money. Where the infringer is overseas, practical enforcement becomes considerably harder.
Worth knowing
Take a written copyright assignment from every designer, developer and agency you pay. Without it, you may hold a licence to use work you believe you own outright.
Questions people ask
Do I need to register copyright in Nigeria?
No. Copyright arises automatically when an original work is created and fixed in tangible form. Registration is not what creates the right, though a dated record helps enormously when proving authorship in a dispute.
Who owns work I paid a freelancer to create?
It depends on your contract. Without a written assignment the creator may retain copyright and you may hold only a licence. This is the single most common intellectual property gap in Nigerian business.
What does copyright not protect?
Ideas, facts, methods, names, titles and short phrases. It protects the particular expression of an idea, not the idea itself, which is why competitors can pursue the same concept lawfully.
How long does copyright last?
For a long fixed term that varies by the type of work, and for many works it extends well beyond the creator's lifetime. It is far longer than most people assume.
Is using an image from Google search infringement?
Very likely, unless the image is licensed for that use or falls within a recognised exception. Businesses using images found online without checking the licence are the most common infringers in Nigeria.