Uploading digital content without rights is illegal – Onyekwere

Group chairman, Linkserve, Chief Chima Onyekwere has said that with the explosion of broadband internet access in the country, that any upload of digital content without authorisation is illegal.

He warned that this could put lots of people against the law.

Onyekwere who was speaking at the 2011 edition of joint Broadband Forum hosted by Messrs eWorld and eBusiness Life in Lagos, last Thursday said that Nigerians need to know their digital rights to be able to use the broadband at their disposal positively.

He noted that it’s always illegal to upload any recorded material in its entirety to any site.

“Remember that this applies to anything copyrighted, even though most of it will be movies and albums, uploading the digitized version of a book is just as illegal as uploading a movie,” he said.

According to Onyekwere, who heads the pioneer Internet service provider in the country, when a user buys a product such as a movie or an audio recording, they do not own it outright, but they own a license.

Part of the terms of the license, he said, requires that the material will not be duplicated or sold and violating this license could get the user in a lot of trouble.

“There are many legitimate ways to get free entertainment online,” he declared, stressing that some bands offer tracks from their albums on social networking sites.

“Some bands have even combated piracy by allowing their fans to set their own price for purchasing an album,” he said, noting that stealing in whatever ramification is always wrong.

He insisted that by making no bones about it, piracy is simply stealing just as running into the video store and pilfering a Digital Video Display (DVD) would be stealing; many entertainment companies have begun making free offerings as an enticement.

Many television programmes, Onyekwere said, also have all of their episodes online, advising Nigerians to ensure they look out for these legitimate sites.

“Not only are they safer and legal, they also offer much better quality than do pirate versions of movies and television shows,” he said.

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