What Is The Content Creation Law In Nigeria?

March 8, 2025
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You might have been thinking that content creation is a free-for-all profession where anybody can join and do whatever they like in order to become wealthy or at least have a source of livelihood.
But permit me to let you now that Nigeria has various laws and regulations that governs content creation and as a content creator you need to abide by those laws in order to have a smooth ride in the field.
In this article therefore, we are going to explore the laws and regulations that govern content creation and hope you’d abide with it and achieve the success you really deserve by doing so.
And without waste of time, let’s get started with it.

What Is The Content Creation Law In Nigeria?

The content creation law in Nigeria is basically the copyright protection that helps content creators to keep and claim ownership of their original works if someone else uses them.
This means that immediately you create an original piece of content as a content creator, the Nigerian copyright is going to protect it for you and in case someone else’s uses it you will be able to sue them and receive the revenue that rightfully belongs to you.
This law binds all pieces of content be it literary, artistic, musical, comedy skit, short film, feature films etc.
This is why you must always ensure you register all your content with the Nigerian copyright commission  so you don’t become a baboon that works and some monkey dey somewhere dey chop am.
We have several other types of content creation laws in Nigeria as you can see below:

1. Copyright law.

The copyright law is the copyright Act 2004 which grants exclusive right to content creator to keep ownership of their reproduction, distribution, adaptation etc. The fair use act of this law allows for fair use of materials that are copyrighted for those who chose to criticize, research and review them.

This law binds every kind of content be it literal, musical and artistic.

2. Digital rights law.

The digital rights law was enacted in 2017 and this law prohibits the unauthorized use, reproduction and distribution of any digital content that belongs to others. It also provides punishment like imprisonment and fines for using someone else content online without prior permission.

The purpose of this law is to protect digital rights which are predominantly online content.

3. Social media and online content law.

This law is enforced by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Guidelines, and it is regulated to protect online content and how people use social media.

This law binds online vices like hate speech, online harassments, defamation, fake news and offers penalties for those who offends them.

This law enables those who fall victim to these vices to seek redress from their offenders.

4. Broadcasting and media protection law.

This law is known as the National Broadcasting (NBC) Act, and it’s purpose is to set standards against showcasing obscene, hateful and indecent materials on a broadcasting station.

This law urges the broadcasters to have their licenses and comply with the rules and regulations that binds broadcasting.

This law typically regulates broadcasting and media content.

5. Law of Intellectual property.

This law is known as the Trade Marks Act and it is a content creation law that protects brands, companies or industries trademarks, logos and identity.

The aim of this protection is for people not to use a brands identity in their content without obtaining prior permission.

As a content creator in Nigeria, you are expected to comply with these content creation laws and regulations that will help you protect the right of your content as well as seek legal actions if others violate same.
Content Creation