Nigeria, U.S. seek stronger copyright protection
ACETNews
The Federal Government and the United States on Wednesday called for stronger intellectual property (IP) protection to help Nigeria’s fast growing music industry convert its global success into greater economic value, saying weak copyright enforcement and poor royalty collection continue to deny creators billions in potential earnings.
The call came at the opening of the three day IP for Growth in Africa: Lagos Music Industry Workshop in Lagos, where industry stakeholders examined how stronger copyright protection can attract investment, create jobs and ensure artists are fairly rewarded for their work. The workshop was organised by the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and Nigerian alumni of the American Music Mentorship Programme (AMMP).
Acting U.S. Consul General Julie McKay said Nigerian music had become one of the country’s strongest exports, with Afrobeats enjoying unprecedented global success, but noted that the industry’s long term growth would depend on effective protection of intellectual property rights.
“As Nigerian music continues to top charts and reach audiences around the world, how do we ensure Nigerian creators capture more of that value? The answer starts with intellectual property,” she said. According to her, stronger copyright protection would encourage more investment, strengthen partnerships between Nigerian creators and American companies, and allow artists to build sustainable careers.
“We want to see American companies investing more in Nigerian talent and Nigerian creators capturing the full value of their work in return,” McKay added.
Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Obi Asika, said Nigeria had gained global recognition through Afrobeats but must now build the institutions needed to sustain the industry’s growth, adding that music streaming on Spotify had risen by more than 5,000 per cent in the past five years, making Afrobeats one of the fastest-growing music genres globally.
“The gap is not cultural. It is infrastructure. We have moved from influence. Now we must move to income. Nigerian music industry generated an estimated $338 million in 2025 but could earn much more if the systems for licensing, metadata management and royalty collection were strengthened,” he said.
Describing the industry’s challenges as “a plumbing problem”, Asika said Nigeria already had the talent and global demand but lacked the structures required to maximise the industry’s economic value. He disclosed that the Federal Government had approved a new national intellectual property framework involving five ministries to strengthen copyright administration and enforcement, while reforms to Nigeria’s copyright levy had been completed and gazetted, paving the way for improved royalty distribution to rights holders.
Regional Intellectual Property Attaché for Sub-Saharan Africa at the USPTO, Katherine Hiner said strong intellectual property protection could help build stronger economies and create better-paying jobs, noting that IP-intensive industries contributed $11.4 trillion to the U.S. economy and supported nearly 66 million jobs in 2024, while piracy, weak enforcement and inefficient royalty management continued to limit the earnings of Nigerian creators.
“There is a widespread belief that IP theft is a victimless crime. That view is not just wrong, it is dangerous,” she said.
“The victims are musicians, filmmakers, artists and entrepreneurs whose work is stolen before they ever have a chance to build a career from it.”
She urged governments to strengthen copyright enforcement, simplify registration procedures and establish transparent royalty management systems that creators could trust.
Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, said the state remained committed to strengthening the creative economy, noting that Nigeria’s music industry contributes more than N613 billion annually but still loses about $286 million in potential revenue in Nigeria and Kenya due to gaps in rights collection and management.
“This is not just lost income for individual artists. It represents jobs not created, infrastructure not built and opportunities not realised. Intellectual property is the engine that drives growth in the creative economy.”
She pledged that the state government would continue to work with local and international partners to strengthen legal frameworks, improve enforcement and encourage greater investment in the sector.
Vice President of Business Affairs and Technology at The Temple Company, Kola Fashola, said Nigeria had no shortage of creative talent, but stressed that stronger institutions were needed to protect creative works and convert them into sustainable businesses.
“The question before us is whether we have built the systems required to protect our work, manage it properly and convert it into sustainable economic opportunity,” he said.
The workshop will continue with technical sessions on copyright protection, licensing, digital distribution, royalty collection and music publishing as stakeholders seek practical solutions to strengthen Nigeria’s creative economy.
