Protecting Creativity & Innovation
A copyright is a platform which provides protection for literary, musical, and artistic works, cinematography, sound recordings, and broadcasting, while a trademark is the medium by which product owners create distinctiveness and goodwill for their products and services; through personal names, designs, letters, logos, brands, shape of goods, or packaging.
Licensing
This is a Contractual agreement between two business entities in which the licensor permits the licensee to use a brand name, patent, or other proprietary right, in exchange for a fee or royalty. Licensing enables the licensor to profit from the skills, goodwill or other capacity of the licensee.
Nollywood over the years
The media and entertainment sector of any society is extremely important, and the Nigerian media and entertainment industry, in particular, has in recent times displayed enormous potential, attracting both domestic and foreign investment.
The increased recognition of the importance of creativity in its different dimensions, especially in the entertainment industry, as key drivers of socio economic development cannot be over emphasized.
The entertainment industry has been growing in leaps and bounds since its establishment in 2003. Nollywood has risen to number two position (behind India’s Bollywood) in the global film markets, in terms of volume of production.
African film industry
(in which Nollywood is by far the dominant),
would contribute significantly to the expected 5.2% GDP growth projection for the continent in 2013.
“In revenue, Nollywood is third, behind Hollywood and Bollywood. Nollywood produces about 50 movies per week. Current estimates put its annual revenue at an impressive value of $590 million.
Africa Renewal, a publication of the United Nations, reported in its May 2013 edition, that the African film industry (in which Nollywood is by far the dominant), would contribute significantly to the expected 5.2% GDP growth projection for the continent in 2013. Euro monitor International and Reed Exhibitions, the organizers of the World Travel Market, a global event for the travel industry, were cited by Africa Renewal as saying that the Nigerian film industry will continue to drive domestic and regional tourism.
The UNESCO survey revealed that about 56 per cent of Nollywood films are made in local languages, while English remains a prominent language, accounting for 44 per cent, which may contribute to Nigeria’s success in exporting its films.
However, experts credit the birth of Nollywood to the 1992 video release of Living in Bondage, a movie with a tale of the occult that was an instant and huge-selling success.
It wasn’t long before other producers discovered the hidden treasure. Today, there are over 300 movie producers in Nigeria and thanks to new technologies; bulky videotape cameras gave way to their digital descendents, which are now being replaced by HD cameras, editing, music, and other post-production work are now done with common computer-based systems.
Amidst criticism, Nollywood movies are a staple in almost every Nigerian home. The appeal has even stretched far beyond Nigeria as the last few years have seen the growing popularity of Nollywood films among Africans in Diaspora. Today in Nigeria, Nollywood is considered the second largest employer of labour, with an average movie employing a minimum of 130 people.
According to the Nigerian Film and Videos Censors Board (NFVCB), filmmaking employs about a million people in Nigeria, split equally between production and distribution, making it the country’s biggest employer after agriculture.
Nollywood which is the term used for Nigeria’s movie industry grosses US$200m -US$300m a year in revenues, with little or no government help.
Nollywood movies cost between US$15,000 and US$100,000 sourced mainly from the movie producers or “marketers” as they are better known. Nollywood churns out about 50 full-length features a week, making it the world’s second most prolific film industry after India’s Bollywood.
Severe criticisms about the quality of its movies has in no way deterred Nollywood, whose fans hold the opinion that the movies tell African stories for the African audience. Today, the industry is raising a new breed of savvy entrepreneurs whose exploits have internationalized the movie industry. One of them is 33-year old Jason Njoku of Iroko Partners, who was recently listed by Forbes as one of “top 10 young African millionaires to watch.”
The special $200m entertainment fund
After over 18 years of informal funding, Nigeria is now at the point of a gradual introduction of institutional financing across the film value chain of production, exhibition and distribution, a development that is sure to transform the Nigerian film industry.
The Federal Government joined the array of would-be financiers of the Nollywood dream when President Goodluck Jonathan announced investment of US$200 million (N30 billion) in the development of the entertainment industry at the 30th years anniversary of the Silverbird Group in November 2010.
The special fund, perhaps the largest of its kind in Africa is domiciled with the Bank of Industry and the Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) and accessible for the development of the entertainment industry.
History of cinema exhibition in Nigeria
Cinema culture in Nigeria dates back to the colonial days in which cinema complexes functioned in Nigeria’s big cities. In those days there were hardly Nigerian components in the films shown in those cinema houses as distribution and exhibition were controlled by foreigners.
