The federal government has urged the relevant stakeholders to ensure the use of digital tools aligns with legal standards, intellectual property laws, and best practices. It said this became necessary due to the increasing reliance on digital tools in the country.

Beatrice Jedy-Agba, the permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Justice, stated this at a sensitisation workshop on legal  use of engineering and design software in Abuja on Thursday.

“The increasing reliance on digital tools has become a pressing need to ensure that their  use aligns with legal standards, intellectual property laws, and best practices in our nation. This workshop offers an opportunity for legal practitioners, engineers, designers, and policy makers to engage constructively on issues pertaining to the ethical and lawful deployment of these essential tools.

“The discussions here will no doubt promote greater awareness, mitigate the risks of software piracy, and encourage adherence to licensing regulations, ultimately supporting innovation while upholding the rule of law.

“The Federal Ministry of Justice remains committed to fostering a congenial legal environment that enables technological advancement, while protecting rights and promoting responsible usage of creative and innovative works,” said Ms Jedy-Agba.

She stated that, with the assistance of the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Copyright Act 2022, which was recently reenacted and signed into law in March 2023, aimed to address the use of works in the digital environment, among other objectives.

According to her, the new act has far-reaching provisions on the protection of rights, by  providing well-balanced exceptions and limitations in line with Nigeria’s treaty obligations. She stated that since the enactment of the act, the justice ministry had implemented regulations to enhance the administration and enforcement of rights.

Additionally, Abubakar Lawal, the technical sales manager at Autodesk, noted that the benefits of using genuine software license subscriptions include legal protection and compliance, full access to features and updates, team collaboration, and workflow efficiency. 

According to him, other benefits include support and technical assistance, professional credibility and trust, and financial predictability and better ROI.”

Femi Ajala, the Nigerian Copyright Commission’s head of operations, urged the creative community to engage in intellectual participation. According to him, this will aid in sharing knowledge, experiences, and finding the best possible ways to manage software use.

Mr Ajala said the focus should be primarily on context and Autodesk software in order to address the incidence of unauthorised usage.

(NAN)