ANIMATION COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA: THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR ANIMATORS

Finding clear information on copyright for something as underrated as animation in Nigeria may not be so easy. Most guides tend to be general or not consider the Nigerian legal landscape. From storyboard to finished animated film, this is the complete guide to copyright for Nigerian animators.

Compressing over 60 pages of the Copyright Act, this guide explains animation copyright in Nigeria including ownership, licensing, AI generated animation, contracts, registration and enforcement. At the end of this post, you should know exactly what copyright is, what part of your work is copyrightable, the rights attached and how to protect yourself in contracts.

---

---

2. Introduction: Copyright Fundamentals:

What is copyright and how does it apply to animated works?

Copyright is the exclusive legal right automatically granted to anyone on the original expression of an idea in a fixed form.

There is no copyright in ideas. Copyright only protects your original expression of an idea. For instance, Cinderella is a folktale that has been used by various authors. Anyone can write or animate their own version of Cinderella, which is why understanding animation copyright is so important. What would qualify a work based on the Cinderella folktale for protection is the original way that the Cinderella story will be expressed.

If someone were to copy the blue dress Cinderella wore in the Disney rendition or the magical song that the fairy God mother sang, they would be infringing on Disney’s copyright. This is because Disney has interpreted and expressed the Cinderella story in an original way and fixed form, thus giving them copyright over their expression of the Cinderella folktale. This shows that a key question in copyright is, “How original is my expression of this idea?”

For 3D artists and animators, fixed form when it comes to Copyright could be written format (handwritten, typewritten in any file format), drawn or painted, recorded (sound or video), photographed, digitally rendered (3D scene files and project assets like models or rigs), or sequenced into frames (2D vector files or hand drawn cels saved to a drive), etc. Your work must be fixed in some medium for it to enjoy copyright protection.

3. The Legal Framework: Copyright laws that protect animators in Nigeria.

Copyright is territorial. This means that a work a work protected in Nigeria is governed primarily by Nigerian law within its borders. In Nigeria, the primary law that governs copyright is the Copyright Act 2022.

Nigeria is also a signatory to international treaties on copyright such as the Berne Convention, the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances and the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Due to Nigeria’s membership with the Berne union, copyright can transcends national boundaries through the principle of ‘National Treatment.’ This would ensure that Nigerian creators automatically receive the same legal safeguards in foreign member states as those countries grant to their own nationals.”

The body responsible for the registration, administration and enforcement of copyrights in Nigeria is the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). The Federal High court also has the exclusive jurisdiction in any copyright claim. Judicial precedents and the copyright act are the material the court utilizes to resolve copyright claims.

There are also collective rights management agencies that help connect authors to users (anyone who wants to use your animation to promote their business), granting the users a license and the authors royalties for the use of their work. For animators who want ease of collecting royalties from business and others who potentially want to display their work, the Audio Visual Rights Society of Nigeria claims to be the sole government approved collective management organization in Nigeria for audiovisual works.

4. The “Animator” Identity and Copyrightable Work: What Animation works are Protected by Copyright?

When discussing animation copyright, it is important to first understand who an animator is. The word “animator” has been used loosely in Nigeria to mean many things from the person who creates an entire animated piece (from the preproduction to finished work, including the modelling, rigging, animation and editing) to the actual animator who makes the characters or models in a 2D to 3D space move and more recently to the ones who prompt AI to create their idea from scratch or accept AI’s input somewhere in the production process. Now that we’ve clarified what animator means, we will use this wide definition of the various things Nigerians believe an animator is in order to properly cover the essentials every Nigerian animator should know.

When it comes to what is eligible for copyright, any animated work that is original and fixed whether on paper or digitally, is eligible for copyright. Interestingly, even works that are an infringement of another animated work can still be copyright-protected provided they substantially add new, original details to the underlying material/infringed work. E.g. fan fiction. (Note: This does not mean you can beat the original creator in court! If you use their characters or story without a license, they can still successfully sue you for infringement.).

Here are some examples of various things that are copyrightable in the animation process:

• The concept art or storyboard,
• The animation story/script (copyrightable if it has been reduced in writing),
• The drawn or modelled character or object models,
• The Ai assisted object or character model (copyrightable if the original idea came from you and substantial work and effort was added into by you in what turns out as the finished work).
• The character voiceovers
• Original sound effects you create
• Original sheet music and lyrics you create,
• The completed animated work.

AI and Animation Copyright in Nigeria:

Can AI-generated animation be copyrighted in Nigeria?

The Terms of Service of many LLM AI companies state that the output generated by the AI chatbot belongs to the user. Others simply state that they do not claim ownership of the output which raises the question of whether such outputs then belong to the public domain. While, there is no direct legal address to the copyrightability of AI generated works in Nigeria, we can still use general principles of copyright law and observe how other countries who have addressed AI generated works have responded.

Using general principles of Copyright in Nigeria, we can say that, if the work involves sufficient creative expression from the person claiming copyright, they should automatically have copyright in that work. This would mean, it cannot be prompting alone but how the finished product comes together based on the creative choices of the user.

In Observing other countries’ response to AI generated works, we can see that:

1. US: The US Copyright office states that there must be creative input or intervention from a human author for a work to be copyrightable. The parts of the work created with AI must be disclaimed. Thus, the nature of human involvement and control determines copyright protection.

2. China: An AI-generated character or object which you did not sufficiently assist in creating is not copyrightable as it is not original. Animations done with AI must involve sufficient expression in form of human arrangement ( imputing personal judgements on the layout or composition of the animation) or modifications. You can read more here.

Therefore AI-generated animation is copyrightable if the author is a human using the AI as a tool while making sufficient effort to arrange, guide, direct, modify and complete the animated work.

5. Rights Granted and Protected Assets: What Rights does Copyright Give Animators?

Copyrights can be divided into Moral rights and Economic rights. These rights are the foundational things that copyright gives any animator.

• Moral Rights: This is the right to be identified as the creator and the right to object to any distortion of your work that harms your reputation. It usually cannot be taken away from an animator even by contract (section 14(3) of NCA)
• Economic Rights: This is the right to profit from the animated work you have created. It includes the right to reproduce (copy), distribute, perform in public, and translate or adapt your animated work (e.g., turning a short animated film into a series). This rights can be completely given away (assigned) or partially licensed to someone else, or a group of people.

6. The Copyright Timeline (Life Cycle): How long does Copyright last in animation works?

Copyright does not last forever but it lasts long enough to reward the effort and time that goes into creating an animation. Copyright’s duration depends on the type of work involved. We have mentioned different types of works that go into the animation process.

When it comes to concept art, storyboards, background and environment art, drawn or modelled character, object or environment models, these artistic works enjoy 70 years of protection after the end of the year in which the author dies. For the animation story/script and any custom script written for rigging or rendering, those literary works enjoy 70 years of protection after the end of the year in which the author dies.

The character voiceovers, sound effects, background score/ theme music are sound recordings. The duration of their copyrights is 50 years from the end of the year the first public release was authorised by the author, or 50 years from creation if unpublished.

The sheet music and lyrics are musical works and enjoy copyright protection for 70 years after the end of the year in which the author dies.

The completed animation work is classified as an audio visual work and enjoys copyright protection for 50 years from the end of the year the first public release was authorised by the author, or 50 years from creation if unpublished.

It is obvious that your animated work is protected for a very long time, allowing you and your estate to benefit from it long after it has been created. This of course is subject to whether or not you license or assign your copyright but we will talk about that later in this post.

7. Registration: Process and Necessity: Do animators need to register Copyright in Nigeria?

If copyright is automatic, do you need to register? Copyright is automatic once the essential elements of originality and fixation are present. Registration is not necessary for copyright protection in Nigeria. However, registration could help prove ownership in a copyright infringement claim.

As mentioned earlier, the NCC is charged with the responsibility of registering copyrights in Nigeria, maintaining a register of copyrights, and database on copyrights. As part of the NCC’s statutory mandate to maintain an effective databank on authors and their works, the voluntary copyright registration scheme was created to notify the commission of your works as an author. Registering could provide the following strategic advantages for animators:

• Verified Proof of Ownership: It provides a way to prove or independently verify to the general public or potential partners that the work is yours. The acknowledgment certificate can serve as prima facie evidence of ownership, meaning it is legally accepted as proof of your ownership unless someone can prove otherwise.
• Clear Rights Management: It make it easier for anyone interested in licensing your animation to identify and contact the rightful owner for permission or licensing arrangements. Listing your work could simplify the process for collaborators and distributors to secure the rights they need.
• Secure Government Vault: The system acts as a protected backup for your animation for your animation. By keeping an official copy on file, the NCC ensures you always have an undisputed ‘master version’ to prove exactly what your original work looked like, protecting you if your files are ever lost, tampered with, or claimed by someone else.

Remember that you still get copyright in your work automatically whether or not you choose to register with the NCC.

8. Ownership Models: Who owns copyright in an animation project?

Ownership over an animated work depends on how the work was produced. Let me explain. How much you own of the animated work you created can vary depending on whether you work as a solo 3D artist, or an employed animator in an animation studio or whether you do your work as an independent contractor. Here’s what changes for each situation:

• Employee: In Nigeria, the Act considers the work created in the course of employment to be under the ownership of the employee UNLESS your employment agreement transfers ownership to the employer. However, the reverse is the case when you work with the government or an international organization. Even though you automatically own copyright to your work under an employer, it becomes a bit tricky under a collective work arrangement. In simple words, if there are a group of animators working for an animation studio as employees, the employer automatically owns the copyright. Why? this is because the Studio/employer is the one on whose initiative or direction the work was created (and also because the copyright act says so). The act also states that every single animator who contributes to that work still retain rights to the part of the work contributed UNLESS they sign those rights away in a contract. A contract can change up the ownership structure. This is why its important to be aware of what you’re signing. The Act considers the person making arrangement for the work as the owner while retaining individual ownership for the respective part contributed. However, it will respect the agreement between the parties.
• Independent Contractor: Copyright ownership for freelance animators is generally the same as working under an employer-employee relationship. If you are hired for a one-off animation gig, you typically own the work, but the client or animation studio has an implied right to use it for the purpose they paid for. The can formally get a license to use it or completely own the work depending on what you agree to in the contract.
• Solo Creator: You own 100% of the copyright in your animation made solely with your input except you give those rights away through contract (an Assignment contract).
• Group projects: A group animated project is a collective animation work. The copyright is vested in in the person on whose initiative or direction the work was created. However, all members of the group still retain rights to the part of the work contributed UNLESS they sign those rights away in a contract.

9. Animation Contracts and Copyright Ownership:

We’ve seen some bloopers on the role of contracts in your copyright ownership. Now it’s time to look a bit closer. On the topic of contracts, we could say that there are three types of animators: The ones that believe in a gentleman’s agreement and never sign any documents when it comes to making animated works, the ones that request contracts but unknowingly sign away their rights and the slim few who actually know what to look out for in animation work contracts or have lawyers to review their contracts.

Contracts are your safety net. They define whether you are granting a License (permission to use) or an Assignment (selling the ownership entirely).

You may want to grant someone permission to use can also be used to expand the reach of your animated work. You may want to reach different cinema houses in different countries for example and in that case need to grant a license to trusted distribution companies or marketing experts for various countries so that they can handle your animated work in that country/region.
Someone may also want a license to use your work, for instance as a freelancer who has made some animated work as an independent contractor or otherwise. Contracts are your way of defining how much of your work they are allowed to use, in what way and for how long.

An important concept under copyright contracts for animation is animation licensing. There are various types of copyright licenses for animation. They can generally be categorized into: Exclusive licenses, Non-exclusive licenses and Sole licenses.

Exclusive licenses are commercial licenses that grant the licensee the sole right to use the animated work. This means that whoever you give an exclusive license to as an animator has the right to use your work to the exclusion of others including you for the duration of time stated in the contract. Once signed, you cannot license that same work to anyone else nor can you use it yourself, until the agreed period expires.

An example is signing to give a streaming platform like Netflix exclusive license to show your animated work. Once signed, you are legally required to take down the work from all other platforms, including your own personal social media accounts.

Non Exclusive licenses are commercial licenses that grant usage rights to multiple (more than one) licensees simultaneously. Unlike an exclusive license, this license legally permits the owner to continue to use the work even while giving others permission to do the same.

A non-exclusive license allows the animator to grant rights to use to one recipient while still retaining the permission to give that same work to others. 

A common example is listing your animated character or assets on Sketchfab, Turbo Squid, CG Trader, or Blender Marketplace for multiple people to download for a fee and use. 

When any buyer pays for and downloads your model on such platforms, they are not buying your copyright. They are simply buying a right to use your model in their projects. The non-exclusive nature of the license makes it possible for Buyer A to use it in his game, Buyer B to use it for her animated short and you can keep selling that exact same asset to hundreds of other buyers simultaneously.

Sole license is a commercial license that allows an animator to grant one licensee exclusive license to use the animated work while retaining the right to use the work simultaneously. A sole licence allows the licensee to use the work exclusively alongside the copyright owner, while preventing the copyright owner from granting the same rights to other licensees.xclusive licenses grant the licensee (the person being granted the copyright by the copyright owner) the sole copyright over the animated work.

It is very important to state clearly what type of license you are giving the licensee regardless of the type of license. In any of these licenses, the animator can get back his rights once the duration of the agreement expires.

As stated earlier, contracts can also assign copyright to another person. This type of contract is permanently transferring ownership of the copyright to the assignee. This is called Assignment of copyright. There is no duration for the transfer of your rights under an Assignment contract. If you sign this as an animator, you are surrendering your economic rights to that person or company forever.

It is noteworthy that some freelance platforms like Fiverr have already put the works you create for clients under assignment (through their terms of service agreement with you). You may be able to retain your rights or only grant a non-exclusive license on freelance platforms by explicitly stating that clearly in your contract or gig terms!

When signing exclusive license contracts, you can narrow down what part of your economic rights you are granting to the licensee. You could give exclusive rights to reproduce in a certain country or on a certain medium (for instance, between internet streaming and television broadcast). You can also put restrictions or conditions to ensure that you can automatically get your rights back in certain situations if the licensee does not keep the terms of the agreement.

You must also be careful to consider the duration of the exclusive license so that you do not unknowingly assign your copyright to the licensee. A good example is having a client pay you to design a custom, one-of-a-kind character for their brand from scratch. In this case, the contract between you can state whether you are granting an exclusive license or an assignment.

These and other intricate details such as what license fits your particular situation are what a lawyer can guide you through when you seek legal services before signing the agreement.

10. Protection Strategies and Monitoring: How to Protect your Animation from Copyright Infringement.

A tree that does not claim its soil is easily uprooted by the wind. It is one thing to know you have copyright but it is another for that knowledge to translate to protection of your Copyright. As an animator, you need to take some steps to ensure that your copyright is protected online and offline. Protecting your work offline involves signing NDAs and keeping proof of when you created the work. Here are some tips to how to protect your animated work online:

• Awareness: when you share your work online, let your audience know that you have copyright over the work you are sharing. Let people know how or if they can reshare your work. Let them know what kind of license you are giving them. You can use copyright notices to raise awareness that you own copyright in the work you have posted. A simple copyright notice could include the copyright sign © followed by your name, the year and all rights reserved.
• Digital Watermark: one good way to give some awareness that the work you are sharing is copyright protected and owned by you is to put a watermark on your animations. This watermark will follow it wherever it is shared so you can easily identify your work when it is shared without your permission or used in a way you would not permit. You could make the watermark disruptive so that it is not easily cropped out by someone else.
• Monitor your work online: you need to proactively be on the lookout for your work being re-shared without your permission. This may be very difficult to find just by searching wide social databases manually because the person may not share it under the same title or thumbnail. Uploading your animation to YouTube may also help you monitor unauthorized uses through YouTube’s copyright tools. When someone else tries to upload that video to YouTube, it will trigger a copyright match which will be visible on your dashboard. It will show the channel’s name and how much of your animated work was used. You can then take enforcement actions from there.  Meta also has something like that called the Meta Rights manager. Other tools you can use to monitor your work online include Google search console, Copy scape, and Reverse image search.
• Build Community: when sharing your work on social media, don’t just dump your work and go. Try to build trust with viewers or a community. Those people will be willing to inform you when they find your work being posted somewhere else.  
• Keep Evidence: It is a good idea to save project files, preserve drafts, storyboard versions, render dates and even client emails as these could help in a situation where someone claims your work as their own. Registering your copyright could also be used to establish that you had created the work first.

11.Enforcement, Fighting Piracy & Infringement: What to do when someone steals your animation.

Despite the rights enjoyed by the animator, another individual could use the animated work without permission or in a way that the animator has not intended. This is called Copyright infringement.
We have looked at how to protect your copyright online but what do you do when you find that your work has been used without permission?

In dealing with piracy, the legal maxim, ‘he who comes to equity must come with clean hands’ may be an important consideration. To fight piracy, you have to be sure that you’re not pirating other people’s animation as well. You can fight piracy against your animated works by doing the following:

• Issue a cease and desist notice. You can get a lawyer to write this for you. If the person refuses to yield:
• Get a takedown from the social media the person has posted it on.
• File a complaint with the NCC.
• Institute an action in court. You may need the services of a lawyer to properly represent your interests.

12. Legal Limitations: Copyright Exceptions Every Animator Should Know.

Copyright grants a lot of benefits to the author however, there are legal limitations to your copyright. Otherwise called exceptions to copyright, these limitations are where your copyright claim ends.

These limitations include private use, parody, caricature, pastiche, educational use (people can use your work for non commercial educational purposes or research), news reporting and fair use. As mentioned earlier, time is a legal limitation to your copyright. Copyright cannot be claimed over your work after 50 years from the death of the author. It would fall into the public domain.

Conclusion:
Animation takes months or even years of effort. Every concept art, storyboard, script, character design, model, rig, voice recording and finished scene represents time, skill and creativity. This kind of effort, while enjoyable, is not something that any 3D artist, student animator, freelance animator, or studio professional would want to go through only to have it compromised by a lack of knowledge of copyrights and contracts. This article should have shown you that most animators lose rights over their work through contracts rather than piracy. I hope this has been an extensive cover of copyright in animation works. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment with your questions.

Disclaimer: This guide provides general information about copyright law and should not be considered legal advice. Specific situations may require professional legal consultation.

If this post has been helpful, kindly share it with others who need it.

• WhatsApp
• LinkedIn
• X
• Facebook