ANOTHER ANGLE

let’s pause and ponder for a bit

ENTERTAINMENT LAW
NIGERIA, IT’S ABOUT TIME!
BY HENRIE EDUOZOR

Entertainment law has always been Patents and Design Act Cap P2 LFN 2004
an area of interest for me. This is because I Companies and Allied Matters Act Cap
have seen and read about how good laws C20 LFN 2004
t ra n s fo r m s o c i e t i e s a n d i m p rove Companies Income Tax Act Cap C21 LFN
economic growth and development in 2004
several countries around the world. In Personal Income Tax Act Cap P8 LFN
this article, my focus will be on the 2004
s i g n i i c a n c e o f i n t r o d u c i n g Constitution of the Federal Republic of
'Entertainment Law' as an elective course Nigeria, 1999
for students studying law in various
universities in Nigeria. Airende Uwa, in his article “The Law And
Entertainment In Nigeria” succinctly
Entertainment law—also known as laid out the roles of legal practitioners in
media law—is the body of the many areas the entertainment industry as follows:
of law that govern the entertainment
industry. It is the sum total of several different types of “Contractual advice to clients, most
law that are relevant to the entertainment industry clients enter into contracts without understanding the
including transactional law and litigation. Laws that depth of it. Hence the need for a lawyer to advice/ guide you
impact the entertainment industry include statute law on the legal consequences.
(federal and state), rules created by government
agencies, Common Law, the principles of Equity and Drafting and negotiating development and production
judicial precedent. Entertainment law affects talents that contracts, such as write agreements, talent agreements,
perform in the entertainment industry and also, the and recording agreements.
production aspects of creating entertainment content.
Facilitating and negotiating distribution deals for an
There is no doubt that Nigeria is a country that is richly entertainment project.
gifted with creative talents. This is evident in the surge
and explosion we have seen in the entertainment Working on inancing agreements for sponsorship, bank
industry in the last two decades. Nollywood is ranked as loans, co-production investments, grants, and other types
one of the largest and fastest growing movie industries in of investments.
the world.
Preparing form agreements for clients, such as appearance
More recently, the internet has played a signi icant role in releases, location releases, and license agreements.
driving this industry. But can we say the environment is
conducive enough to bring about the sort of rapid growth Reviewing contracts and other legal documents to analyze
being experienced in other countries? Is the environment right issues or other business or legal questions.
conducive enough to further maximize inherent
opportunities, achieve measurable goals and standards, Reviewing and commenting on pitches and budgets for
and enable talents to fully unlock potentials? television series, ilms, mobile apps or other entertainment
projects.
In Nigeria, there are no speci ic entertainment laws.
However, the laws governing intellectual property in Resolving contract disputes through alternative dispute
Nigeria generally form the legal framework of the resolution (Mediation, conciliation or arbitration).
entertainment industry. This is because virtually all the
activities in the entertainment industry are intellectual Ensure the client is in compliance with the regulation
property related. The laws are: agencies in the ield they operate.

The Copy Rights Act Cap C28 LFN 2004

The Trade Marks Act Cap T13 LFN 2004

35 | LSWK FEBRUARY 2020

 ANOTHER ANGLE HENRIE EDUOZOR

Institute an action in court for copyright infringement,

trademark infringement, breach of contract and other The overall goals of the course will be to (1) expose
related matters. students to the unique and increasingly complex
structure of the entertainment business; (2) to foster an
Attend meetings on behalf of the client where necessary. understanding of the role the law and entertainment
lawyers play in that unique business structure; (3) to
Assist the client with real estate deals e.g carrying out strengthen students' ability to draft key documents and
due diligence on a proposed property to ensure the craft persuasive legal arguments to accomplish the
property is free from encumbrances.” goals they may seek to achieve as lawyers in the
entertainment industry; and (4) to develop the
In view of the above, you would agree with me that it is analytical and problem-solving skills necessary to make
pertinent that budding lawyers—at LLB level—are them into effective entertainment lawyers.
given the opportunity from an academic standpoint to
learn and understand the industry that has so much We can now see the difference between entertainment
potential, yet, very limited number of legal practitioners law and intellectually property law. The former is
practicing in that area. How best to do this than to transactional and business oriented which —in my
introduce “Entertainment Law” as an elective course for opinion—is suitable for an expanding industry such as
undergraduate law students, in addition to other our entertainment industry as against the Intellectual
programs designed for lawyers already in practice. Property Law that leaves the budding lawyer with little
or no knowledge of the transactional nature of the
Intellectual Property Law is the closest course we have entertainment industry. For an entertainment industry
to Entertainment Law in Nigerian universities. like ours that is blossoming, lawyers should be given
the opportunity to be equipped with foreknowledge, so
It is important to point out that Entertainment Law is that they can begin to adequately and professionally
not, in and of itself, a separate legal discipline. Instead, exploit the inherent opportunities as soon as they are
the practice of Entertainment Law lies at the called to the bar, and also, practicing lawyers can be
intersection of various traditional legal disciplines, such offered programs that will boost and expand their
as contract, tort, copyright, trademark, antitrust, knowledge in entertainment law.
secured transactions, etc., and applies those disciplines
to a unique business setting. I hope the Council of Legal Education and the Nigerian
University Commission are paying attention. The best
Entertainment law as a course is intended to approach time to position lawyers for this lucrative industry was
the study of entertainment law from a practical 20 years ago, the next best time is now.
perspective, applying the principles of traditional legal
disciplines to avoid problems and ind solutions in
various facets of the entertainment industry. To
accomplish the necessary background, the course is
expected to focus on the entertainment industry from “
both a macro level (i.e., the organization of the motion
picture, television and music business, including the
In view of the above, you would agree
function of studios, producers, networks, record with me that it is pertinent that budding
companies, agencies, managers, lawyers and labor lawyers—at LLB level—are given the
unions) and a micro level (i.e., examining actual
agreements in order to understand the principal
opportunity from an academic standpoint
components of motion picture talent, production and to learn and understand about an industry
distribution contracts, television series contracts, music that has so much potential, yet, very
and book publishing contracts).
limited number of legal practitioners
Also, it will examine key litigation issues that affect the practicing in that area. How best to do this
industry, such as the interaction of the freedom of than to introduce “Entertainment Law” as
speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom
of association and the right of publicity, the right of an elective course for undergraduate law
privacy and libel, and pro it participation cases. They students, in addition to other programs
will get the opportunity to analyze the impact of the designed for lawyers already in practice.
digital media—including the internet—along with the
future of the entertainment industry, thereby preparing
the students for a future era.

36 | LSWK FEBRUARY 2020

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