An appraisal of the operational problems hindering the protection of performer's rights as copyright in Nigeria

Intellectual creation occupies a prominent place within the economic, social and cultural development of each nation; the wellbeing of a country is also appreciated by its capacity to create, introduce, manage and exploit intellectual assets beyond its natural resources, its labour or capital. Protection of intellectual property rights is of particular importance because the essence, goal and purpose are to protect the product of human intelligence and at the same time to guarantee for the benefit of consumers the use of such produce. Copyright and neighbouring rights are one of the main branches of Intellectual Property rights. Copyright is a significant specie of intellectual property which includes literary works, musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recordings and broadcasts. Neighbouring rights refer to the rights of a live performer also known as performer’s rights. Both copyright and neighbouring rights are protected under the Copyright Act, even though the Act makes independent provisions for each. This paper discusses the statutory framework dealing specifically with the protection of neighbouring rights and examines how neighbouring rights have been protected in international copyright laws; The Rome Convention, Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), both of which Nigeria is a signatory to, and the Beijing Treaty which for the first time in international copyright extends protection to live performance. The operational problems encountered in the course of enforcing neighbouring rights are highlighted and suggestions proffered on how to alleviate same.