The Nigerian Copyright Commission and the National Gallery of Art have signed a memorandum of understanding to combat copyright infringement in the visual arts sector and promote the growth of the creative economy.

The director-general of NCC, John Asein, and the director-general of NGA, Ahmed Sodangi, signed the MoU at the NCC head office in Abuja on Monday.

The MoU also aims to strengthen synergy and collaboration between the two organisations to prevent the unauthorised use, reproduction, distribution, and display of copyrighted visual artworks.

Speaking at the event earlier, Mr Asein said the organisations would focus on the visual arts sector, adding that this step would be replicated in other areas. According to him, NGA collaborating with the copyright commission would also help them take further steps with other units of government and agencies to improve the lot of visual artists.

Mr Asein commended the NGA boss and his team for making the event happen, stressing that, beyond this, they had commenced discussions on possible areas of collaboration and action.

Mr Asein reiterated NCC’s commitment to continuing to disrupt illicit activities in the visual arts sector.

Also speaking, Mr Sodangi said the MoU was strategic because the visual arts sector deals with creativity, intuition, and intellectual property.

According to him, it is significant to have such synergy with the agency that protects copyright infringement and ownership.

Mr Sodangi noted that collaboration with NCC and other stakeholders, such as SNA, would facilitate achieving the aim of the MoU.

He said that one of the renewed hope agendas of President Bola Tinubu has been restated so many times: the need for inter-government agencies and inter-industrial departments to come together and see how to improve the sector.

He appreciated Mr Asein and his team for putting them on their toes, because it was one thing to actually speak about something and another to put it into action.

According to him, the dedication of the NCC team was what prompted the other side of the National Gallery to look into it, which boils down to policy.

Mr Sulaiman, SNA president, said NGA has been working in its own capacity with SNA, but collaborating with NCC would help them achieve a lot more.

According to him, they are not fighting with anybody, but people involved in that act should understand that they are infringing on people’s emotions, and I urge them to desist from such an act.

He said that the ideas that have been built by so many notable artists in the world today, like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Filippo Brunelleschi, the three highly influential Italian artists, were not duplicated. Mr Sulaiman said that if their artworks were duplicated, they would not have reached such heights even after their deaths.

(NAN)