By A.A TAOFEEK

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS ONLINE CONTENT?
Specifically, the Copyright Act, 2022 (“The Act”) remains silent on giving a
statutory definition of what Online Content is. However, going by general
definition of the concept, online contents may be defined as the creative works that
are published on the internet. It includes collection of media, resources, and articles
created by a business for its website or individual articles, journal, blog post among
others.

Furthermore, online content is, generally, any creative and original work that
makes its way to the internet which is accessible by internet users in such a way
that they are able to access the work from a place and at a time independently
chosen by them.

From the foregoing, it is adduced that online contents is a blanket word which
covers a list of items which includes but not limited to: text, images, animations,
music, videos and what have you.

ARE THERE ANY RIGHTS ACCRUED TO ONLINE CONTENTS?
This will be answered in affirmative. Just like any other works that are eligible for
copyright, online contents, once satisfied the conditions, (i.e originality and
fixation) are equally eligible for copyright. The Act provides protection for online
contents and also highlights how those rights are to be exercised. This, by

implication, means that if copyright of the online contents is infringed, the owner
of the copyright has a good cause against the infringer.

HOW TO EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT?
The Act clearly outlines the steps which the owner of copyright has to follow.
These steps are highlighted below.
1. Notice to take down the infringing work.
The first step to take by the owner of copyright is to issue notice of the
infringement to the relevant service provider requesting the service provider to take
down or disable access to any infringing content or link to the content, hosted on
its system or network. However, it is necessary to state here that such a notice must
be in writing and it may be transmitted electronically, or by any other means, to the
service provider or his designated agent. The contents of the notification letter shall
include:
 a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of
the owner of the right allegedly infringed ;
 identification of each work claimed to have been infringed ;
 identification of the infringing material or the subject of infringing activity
that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, including
information sufficient to enable the service provider to locate the material ;
 information sufficient to enable the service provider to contact the
complaining party, such as an electronic mail address, telephone number, or
a location address at which the complaining party may be contacted ;

 a declaration on oath that the complainant believes that the use of the
material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the owner of
copyright, his agent or the law ; and
 a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and that the
complainant is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the right allegedly
infringed.
Stationed on the above, the owner of copyright has completed the first stage of
exercising his rights against the infringer. It is now left to the service provider to
act upon the notification he receives.

WHO IS A SERVICE PROVIDER?
This has been answered by the Act. The Act describes service provider as “a
provider of online services or network access, including operators of such
facilities, and any entity offering the transmission, routing, or providing of
connections for digital online communications, between or among points
specified by a user, of material of the user’s choosing, without modification to
the content of the material as sent or received”. This definition exhaustively
describes who a service provider is.
2. Notice to the subscriber by the service provider
The second step is for the service provider to promptly notify the subscriber
responsible for the content for which the notice relates informing him of the
content of the notice, and shall expeditiously take down or disable access to the
infringing content or links to such content hosted on its system or network and,
thereafter, notify the owner of the copyright accordingly.

From the foregoing, it is adduced that a service provider has three functions to
perform;
a. he has to notify the alleged infringer of the notification he received,
b. he has to take down the infringing work with immediate effect, and
c. he has to notify the owner of the copyright that the infringing work has been
disabled on his server.
By so doing, the owner of the copyright has exercised his rights against the
infringer. However, in a situation where the alleged infringer sends a counter
notice to the service provider insisting on being the owner of the content or having
authority to publish same, what should happen?
In this circumstance, the service provider may restore the content if he has received
a written counter notice from the subscriber which he has forwarded to the owner
of copyright immediately on receipt and he did not receive, within seven days after
forwarding the counter notice, a response from the owner of copyright, indicating
that no authorization has been granted for the subscriber to make the content
available. By and large, if the owner of the copyright or the subscriber (alleged
infringer) is not satisfied with the act of the service provider, he is allowed under
the Act to refer the matter to the Nigerian Copyright Commission for adequate
determination and settlement.
In conclusion, online contents are protected against any unauthorized exploitation
just like other copyrightable works. The fact that an article, image, a video, text or
what have you is accessible online does not mean that it is not protected by
copyright. It equally enjoys copyright protection just as the hard copy does.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Copyright Act, 2022.
A.A TAOFEEK is a student of law at the prestigious Usmanu Danfodiyo
University Sokoto. He can always be reached via; Email:
[email protected] || Whatsapp: +234 8085374513.