Copyright legislation and the prevalence of book piracy in Nigeria: A case study of cross river state.

Abstract

The study examined Copyright legislation and the prevalence of Book Piracy in Cross River State, Nigeria. Survey research design was used in the study whose population consisted of book vendors in Cross River State and members of the general public who willingly agreed to participate in the study.Questionnaire and interview methods were the instruments used for data collection.The data collated were analysed using, Pearson’s Correlation, independent t-test and simple percentages. The study found among other things that: poor enforcement of copyright violation and the low cost of producing pirated books were some the reasons why book piracy continue to thrive in Nigeria. Other reasons included:trading in pirated books is a source of livelihood (14.3%), pirates collaborate with foreign agents (31.7%), modern technology favour quick and easy production of pirated books(20.3%), pirated books are more affordable, (19%) and Nigeria’s borders are porous (14.7%). This implies that the books were carried into the country either through the see ports or through the Airports or through other unusual routes. It was recommended in the study that, the Federal Government of Nigeria should look inwards by carrying out an internal appraisal of its fight against piracy as well as the security Apparatus used in the fight against book piracy,