The Role of Intellectual Property Protection on the Cultural Industries in Africa: A Case Study of the Nigerian Film Industry

Abstract

This study highlights on the critical importance, contributions and potentials of the creative industries in promoting cultural identity and in boosting economic development and wealth creation in a world that is increasingly relying on knowledge based economy. It is clear that the cutting edge of global economic development is shifting inexorably in the directions that rely heavily on the creative resources of nations and the only way in achieving this is through the intellectual property system. In this study, the Nigerian film industry was used as a case study and the industry has over three hundred (300) of male and female actors and actress. Questionnaires and in-depth interview were used to elicit information and the responses from the questionnaires were interpreted through the use of software called SPSS, while the information obtained from the in-depth interview were interpreted and analyzed in a narrative form. The study reveals that the government has a non-challant attitude towards the film industry in Nigeria and private individuals are the major financier of the industry. The challenges of the industry are that of piracy and the lack of a well defined policy framework. The study recommends that the collaboration in the fight against piracy should be pursued with vigour. Stakeholder should participate in the design, implementation and enforcement of programmes to combat piracy.