Copyright Law and Photocopying Practice in Nigeria

The protection of copyright is an obligation of nations in order to promote and encourage innovation and creativity The copyright law gives the owner of copyrighted work the exclusive right to control the reproduction of copyrighted works. This right, however, does not bestow on the copyright owner an absolute monopoly to control access to copyrighted information. The paper highlighted that illegal photocopying practice of copyrighted work is damaging to the rights of owners of copyrighted materials as it stifles creativity, innovation and development, and the introduction of the doctrine of ‘fair use’ is aimed at balancing the exclusive rights of copyright owners and access to information by all, in order not to harm scholarship. The paper argues that there is need to raise awareness about copyright law in order to discourage violations, thereby robbing copyrighted owners of the benefit of their labou