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Nigeria confiscates billion naira pirated works: officialABUJA, Mar 15, 2012 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Nigerian government has said it confiscated more than 6 million units of pirated works estimated at 1.2 billion naira (about 8 million U.S. dollars) across the country in the last 14 months. Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) Afam Ezekude announced this to reporters in Abuja on Thursday, saying that the seizures were the outcome of NCC's improved anti- piracy operations. The official told reporters that the seized items included films, sound recordings, books, softwares and illegal broadcast equipment. Ezekude said a total of 145 suspects were arrested and arraigned, while a number of convictions had been secured within the period under review. According to the director-general, the commission had since carried out public destruction of the materials confiscated by since 2007. He told his audience that the decision to destroy the seized materials was borne out of the commission's desire to ensure that pirated works did not go to the market. Ezekude said the commission would intensify surveillance activities to detect all illegal activities at the designated centers across the country. The director said the commission had improved on the copyright notification scheme as part of efforts to ensure the sustained regulation of the copyright industry. He added that the commission had introduced a customized software for the processing of applications received from right owners. According to him, the scheme will help to maintain a record of all right owners registered with the commission. |