EXPRESSIONS OF FOLKLORE IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN COPYRIGHT SYSTEM, INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS AND NATIONAL TREATMENT

Abstract

Folklore is an important aspect of Nigerian culture and heritage, encompassing a wide range of expressions such as folktales, proverbs, traditional music, dance, and crafts, etc. These expressions are deeply rooted in the history and traditions of various Nigerian communities and have been passed down through generations. However, the protection and preservation of folklore have become a major concern, hence provisions against unregulated use enacted in our laws. As a member of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) administering the ratified Berne Convention and the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs), the principle of national treatment set down in these conventions becomes an obligation. In effect, this means that any group of nationals wishing to engage, for commercial purposes, with their own cultural heritage requires, before use, the consent and approval of the Nigeria copyright Commission. This may on one hand be justified as necessary compliance with the principles of national treatment in that through international obligations, indigenous laws of member states should treat both their nationals and non-nationals equally and alike. In this work, using doctrinal research methodology, we shall discuss various expressions of folklore and its protection in contemporary Nigerian society under the Copyright Act of 2022, in relation with the Ghanaian law. We shall, through an analysis of the obligations set down in these conventions, also examine the obligations under international instruments, interrogates this position in relation to Nigeria cultural industries.