Professor Felicia Monye National President, Consumer Awareness Organisation, Plot 1123 ECA Moneke Crescent, Off Maryland Estate, Corridor Layout, Enugu, Nigeria. Phone:

Advocacy visits to media houses Radio phone-in programme

 Create awareness about the concept of access to knowledge and the benefits of the system  Highlight the provisions of the Copyright Act and in particular, the provisions that are likely to inhibit access to knowledge.  Elicit the opinions of members of public on ways of achieving quality education through easy access to learning materials.  Overall objective - how do we make books and other learning materials available and accessible to potential users?

 General Discussion of Issues by Resource Persons  Questions and Comments by Callers (members of the public)

 The concept of Access to Knowledge  Aims of A2K Movement  Works protected by the Nigerian Copyright Act 1988  Liberal provisions of the Copyright Act  Provisions of the Act that are likely to inhibit knowledge

 Easy access to knowledge resources by potential users.  Movement being championed by civil societies, governments and individuals based on the idea that access to knowledge should be linked to fundamental principles of justice, freedom and economic development.

 To emphasise the importance of easy access to knowledge in supporting innovation and development.  To ensure the easy utilization of opportunities arising from technological development.  To draw attention to measures that restrict access to knowledge.  To develop incentives for knowledge sharing.  To encourage public and private investment in knowledge resources.

 Literary works  Musical works  Artistic Works  Cinematograph films  Sound recordings  Broadcasts

 Reproduction of the whole or substantial part of the work by way of fair dealing for the purposes of the research, private use, criticism or review or the reporting of the current events subject to due acknowledgement if the use is to be communicated to the public.  Acts of parody, pastiche and caricature  The broadcasting of a work for educational purposes.  News of the day publicly broadcast or publicly communicated by any other means.

 Use of work for judicial proceedings.  The reproduction of an unpublished literary or musical work kept in a library, museum or any other institution to which the public has access.  Reproduction of a work published in Braille for the use of the blind.  Reproduction of sound recordings for people with special needs.  Licence to produce and publish a translation of a literary or dramatic work for the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research.  Licence to reproduce and publish works, where after the expiration of the relevant period after publication, the work is not available in Nigeria. Also, where copies are exhausted or have not been put on sale 3 years or 7 years as the case may be.

 Duration of protection- 50 or 70 years as the case may be.  Restricted permission to libraries to produce only three copies of books that are not available for sale.  The condition that educational institutions which reproduce works for educational purposes must destroy such works within 12 months.  The condition that translated works should not be exported and also that translation can not take place before one year or three years as the case may be

 In the spirit of patriotism, authors of creative works should empasise availability and accessibility of their works rather than financial gains  Creative works are priceless. Authors should donate their works to public libraries and educational institutions for easy access.

 Most authors of creative works would have been influenced by other people’s works and so should also allow others access to their own works  Government should intervene in order to reduce the high cost of books thereby encouraging authors and publishers

 Period of copyright protection should be reduced to 5 years after the death of the author.  Mobile libraries should be re-introduced to encourage reading in Nigeria

 Government should build standard libraries in all local governments. Authors should submit certain copies of their works to these libraries in return for royalties from government  Authors should think more of contributing to knowledge than commercial gains

 High cost of books is caused by high rates of foreign exchange in the case of foreign books and high cost of printing materials in the case of local books.  Government should remove all forms of import duties on books and printing materials.

 Creative works have commercial value and most authors go into writing as a business. A good creative work should not be offered free.

 Is access to knowledge a right or a privilege?

 Reform of some provisions of the Copyright Act.  Effective distribution of learning materials.  Authors should place their works on Open Access Resources (OAR) on the Internet.  Liberal attitude of authors- formation of access to knowledge authors, donation to libraries, educational institutions and non-commercial centers.

 Grant of licence to those who can mass- produce and pay royalties.  Grant of licence to interested persons to translate into other languages.  Government should check piracy through incentives to authors and the grant of compulsory licence in the case of books that are no longer in circulation.

 National Workshop on Access to Knowledge  Lobbying of the National Assembly for reform of the Copyright Act  Project Evaluation

Judged from the views expressed by callers who participated in the Radio phone-in programme, the A2K Movement is gaining popularity in Nigeria

 Thank you for your attention