By Osagie Alonge
Former President of the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji was a guest speaker at an intellectual property programme held in Oslo, Norway from Monday, May 30, 2011 to Saturday, June 4, 2011.
According to his spokesperson, Okoroji who was jointly invited to present the lecture by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE) spoke extensively about ‘the cultural, historic and philosophical conflicts that face the copyright manager in the developing world as the concept of intellectual property continues to be debated by a significant body of stringent voices’.
The COSON President made comparisons between the international market and that of developing countries, stating that is more expensive for the less developed part of humanity to access books, movies, computer software, music, broadcasts, drugs, etc which are necessary for meaningful human existence.
‘In Africa for instance, most of the societies evolved from a cultural background which was more communal than capitalist. In the traditional African setting, all intellectual creations belonged to the community. Notwithstanding that the originators of such creations may get some recognition for outstanding work, the creations still belonged to the entire community and everyone was entitled to their use. Therefore, songs, poetry, stories, architecture, creations of craftsmen, textile designs, etc were available for everyone’s use. In fact the use of a person’s creative effort was considered great compliment’, Okoroji explained.
The programme was held at the premises of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, part of the world famous Nobel Peace Center, and involved participants from nations like Oman, Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, Kenya, Barbados, Mongolia, El Salvador, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Saint Lucia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Ghana, Tanzania, Maldives, etc. Among the participants was COSON Acting General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Angus Chukwuji.
