Piracy: NCC Seals Bookshops , Arrests Booksellers in Ogun
The Nigerian Copyright commission has arrested some booksellers in Ogun state for violating the copyright law.
The booksellers were arrested when the NCC took the war against piracy to Sango Otta and Abeokuta in Ogun state
The booksellers who allegedly involved in the sales of pirated books pleaded guilty to the offense and regreted their actions, pledged to pay more attention to details while stocking books from suppliers.
The leader of the team,who is also the Southwest coordinator,NCC, Ibadan office,Mrs Oluropo Oke described this period as book season and called on people to desist from fuelling piracy activities, either by buying or selling counterfeited copies.
The NCC southwest coordinator implored book sellers not to be deceived by anybody but always stand upright for the truth and justice.
Mrs Oke also implored booksellers to resist the temptation of dealing with pirates but instead buy and sell only original books from publishers.
She noted that when booksellers patronize the original owners it would boost the gross domestic product, GDP, of the country
Mrs Oke therefore encouraged copyright owners of intellectual property not to relent in producing their works as stiffer penalties await pirates
One of the Independent publishers who was among the team, Mr Olatunde Lawuyi-Ogunniran , appreciated NCC for it’s timely intervention saying the activities of pirates had robbed them of their profit.
Mr Lawuyi – Oguniran called on publishers, authors and writers to corroborate Ncc’s efforts at fighting piracy headlong,so that the act can become a thing of the past.
On the entourage of the commission were the Media, officers of the NSCDC,Publishers, and staff of the commission.
Piracy which is a theft of intellectual property has affected many rightful owners of intellectual properties in Nigeria while The Copyright Act provides for anti-piracy measures in section 25 of the copyright Act.
