The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have begun work on modernising the Nigeria Copyright Registration System (NCRS), with WIPO’s Industrial Property Administration System (IPAS) under consideration as the platform.
A statement by the Commission quoted the NCC Director-General, Dr John O. Asein, to have made the disclosure when he received a WIPO mission led by Mr Hisham Fayed in Abuja on Monday.
He said the aim is to improve service delivery, protect the integrity of the database, promote ease of doing business and strengthen copyright administration.
Asein said the project should align the registration process with the goals of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), especially by improving efficiency, supporting business operations and raising revenue.
He said a streamlined application and resolution process would make registration more credible and efficient. A reliable, verifiable database, he added, would also reduce ownership disputes and serve as a reference for courts and district registries.
Asein thanked WIPO for choosing Nigeria as one of the beneficiaries of the initiative, noting that the country was among the first in Africa to begin a copyright notification system.
He said the Commission, using its powers under the Copyright Act 2022 to make regulations, intends to make registration more attractive by introducing suitable incentives.
“The biggest incentive is having a seamless and efficient system to reduce the burden on applicants,” he said.
Fayed, WIPO’s Head of Global Delivery and Support of Automation Services, said the mission was a rapid response to the NCC’s request for technical support.
He described Nigeria as an important partner because of its status as one of Africa’s leading economies and the strength of its creative industries. Its size and the diversity of its creative sector, he said, offer WIPO useful lessons in developing automation solutions.
He said WIPO has, over the past two decades, extended its automation technology from industrial property to copyright services. The latest version of IPAS, called the Generic Registry, was designed for copyright administration. It can manage varied bibliographic data and different media formats, including literature and music, and can also support other creative sectors, such as traditional cultural expressions.
Fayed said the proposed digital transformation is meant to cut processing time, improve staff productivity, raise service quality and accuracy, and increase customer satisfaction.
The four-day mission, which began on November 9, includes technical assessments of the existing system and consultations with stakeholders to evaluate user experience and identify service gaps. It will end with a practical implementation roadmap and the identification of areas for technical cooperation.
