Director General of Nigeria Copyright Commission, John Asein, has called for the need to empower lesser courts with jurisdiction to adjudicate over cases bordering around copyright and intellectual property right.

Mr Asein who spoke with Peoples Gazette during a two day symposium organised by The United States Mission in collaboration with the American Business Council, to mark the annual world Intellectual Property right day, said there was a need to give power to lesser courts to handle minor copyright and intellectual property right cases.

At the moment, only the Federal High Court has the exclusive right to adjudicate over such issues.

“I think it is better if we train the judges and reduce the workload for the judges, so the dockets will be reduced and that can be done by providing for fast track approach. 

“Instead of having a IP or copyright case stay in court for years, there should be ways we can reduce issues. We should improve on the procedures, and that way we will decongest the court,” he said.

“I would have wished that some area of the IP jurisdiction is relinquished to other courts. because minor criminal IP cases should be able to go to a regular State High Court.

“But as it is today, it is a constitutional challenge but if i had my way I’ll have said that some of these issues should even go to a magistrate court because if you catch a pirate with two copies of a book why do you need to go to a Federal High Court because of two copies of a book,” he added.

Mr Asein lamented that laws governing copyright and intellectual property rights were outdated and cannot match the realities of emerging intellectual property issues in the internet age. 

He, however, told The Gazette that the copyright act recently passed by the Senate will allow for the physical and online enforcement of copyright laws.