For over two decades, the collective management of rights in the Nigerian music industry has witnessed a fierce rivalry between the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN). While the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) approved the former, it refused to approve the latter. Despite this, MCSN has continually acted as a CMO; a development that has led to litigations between it and rights users on the one hand, and between it and the NCC and COSON on the other. However, in March 2017 the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) mandated the immediate approval of MCSN as a permanent solution to the industry’s problem. This article focuses on this approval. Apart from examining the legality of the AGF’s directive and the likely effect(s) of a multiplicity of CMOs on the music industry, the article also proffers measures that may help reposition collective management in the industry for optimal performance.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	copyright, collective management organisation, Nigeria
Research Division:	Law and Legal Studies
Research Group:	Private law and civil obligations
Research Field:	Intellectual property law
Objective Division:	Law, Politics and Community Services
Objective Group:	Justice and the law
Objective Field:	Justice and the law not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Olatunji, OA (Mr Olugbenga Olatunji)
ID Code:	133614
Year Published:	2019 (online first 2018)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	1
Deposited By:	Law
Deposited On:	2019-07-03
Last Modified:	2020-08-21
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