Copyright body set to go after royalty payment defaulters

Chief Tony Okoroji, COSON Chairman, said to ensure that the battle is fought with no holds barred, the body is rapidly expanding and strengthening its legal team and engaging different sets of legal practitioners in the country.

“We have no choice. We are fighting this war with every arsenal we can muster. We are deploying every resource at our disposal. We intend to win this war once and for all and change the intellectual property landscape in Nigeria,” Okoroji said.

He also added that COSON has notified the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON), the Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN), the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as well as informed the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) of all the stations found wanting.

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For hotels, restaurants and others in the hospitality business, COSON is partnering with Hotel & Personnel Services Employers Association of Nigeria (HOPESEA) & Hotel Owners Forum (HOFA), the two main hotel associations in the country. The COSON head is adamant about the deployment of music without a license in a public or commercial settings in Nigeria not happening anymore.

The list of defaulters have been drawn up and soon, COSON will be moving in on them.

Also lending his voice, Mr Chinedu Chukwuji, the General Manager of COSON  said the body had previously tried everything: public relations, discussions, negotiations and moral persuasion but people failed to do the right thing.

He maintained that COSON didn’t get to where it currently is by being weak. He also added that there are billions of Naira being owned creative persons in the country and they intend to collect the onies and invest back in the entertainment industry thereby helping make the industry great again.