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AVRS holds maiden AGM

By Editor
27 March 2016   |   2:56 am
After about one year of its existence, the Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS), Nigeria’s first and only Collective Management Organization (CMO) for cinematographic work will hold its maiden ...
Ali Balogun

Ali Balogun

After about one year of its existence, the Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS), Nigeria’s first and only Collective Management Organization (CMO) for cinematographic work will hold its maiden annual general meeting at Excellence Hotel, Ogba, Lagos. It will be attended by registered members of AVRS, directors and key stakeholders.

One of the highlights of the meeting is the election of directors and leadership that would steer the affairs of the organisation for another term. The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) approved AVRS to function as the sole CMO for cinematograph films in Nigeria’ in November 2015. The wanton exploitation of intellectual property rights in Nigeria and the unrelenting struggle by rights owners to confront such abuse necessitated the establishment of these CMOs which have all being licensed by the NCC having met all necessary conditions required for their establishment.

But the leadership of the AVRS did not immediately begin to pound on right users as a lot of right owners had expected. Following the approval from government, AVRS embarked on series of stakeholders meetings across the country with a view to enlightening stakeholders in the film industry on the purpose, nature and operations of the new CMO.

Ali-Balogun also explained that the AVRS, which is temporary located at the Lagos office of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) in Ikoyi, has initiated high-level discussions with relevant international organizations. The AVRS Chairman believes that with strong international alliances, accreditations and endorsements, AVRS shall not only guarantee global copyright protection and payments for the works of its members in due course, but also achieve the assignment of the International Standard Audio Visual Number (ISAN) for its members’ works.

He hinted that the next stage for AVRS, after the meeting, is the commencement of actual licensing for use of audio visual works and Ali-Balogun confirmed that the exercise will commence as ‘’from the second quarter of 2016’’. However he urged members of the public, particularly persons and organizations whose businesses and operations involve the commercial use of audiovisual content to cooperate with AVRS and meet their copyright obligations in line with extant laws.

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