COSON Members Now Listed on Interested Parties Information Database

Director General National Centre for Women Development and elegant singer, Onyeka Owenu

The Head Office of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) in Lagos was abuzz with excitement last week as confirmation was received that members of COSON have been listed in the critical Interested Parties Information (IPI) system administered by the Geneva based organization, SUISA.

The IPI system can be likened to the Bible of the international copyright structure by which every important copyright owner in music is identified around the world. The listing of COSON members in the IPI database and the assignment of special international numbers to each of them has made it easy to track works of members anywhere in the world for ease of payment.

The need to list all members which includes Onyeka Onwenu, Innocent Idibia, Sir Victor Uwaifor and Ebenezar Obey among others into the IPI was approved at COSON AGM in 2012 AGM.

According to General Manager, COSON, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, the IPI System is an international register used by the International Confederation of Authors & Composers (CISAC), the Paris based organization representing collective management organizations in 122 countries.

He said It is also used by Bureau International des SociétésGérant les Droits d’Enregistrem(BIEM) member societies found in 42 countries.

“The IPI contains all the names of rights holders (natural and legal persons), both of copyright protected works and public domain works, made known to the IPI Centre. The collation and presentation of the information standardized according to the CIS regulations of CISAC and BIEM serves the documentation, distribution and accounting processes of the societies linked to the IPI system.

“ The purpose of the IPI system is the global unique identification of a natural person or legal entity acting across multiple creation classes, roles and rights. This is related to the data exchange not only within and between the CISAC societies, but also in the world-wide transaction and processing with third parties and user organizations such as radio and TV stations, sound carrier producers, etc.

“We said in the beginning that COSON would do everything to ensure that the Nigerian music industry is an important player on the world stage. I am very pleased that COSON has received the first batch of IPI numbers. This is in line with the drive to ensure that members’works exploited anywhere on the face of the earth is tracked and right owners adequately compensated. The world has become a global village with the coming of the digital age. While that may have its own disadvantages, it creates a huge opportunity for the creative industry all around the world and we are excited to be part of this”.

Commenting on development, CEO of Now Muzik and member of COSON Board, Mr. Efe Omorogbe said, “Thumbs up to the guys at the COSON office for the good works that they are doing. I am glad at this news. Now it will be a lot easier to monitor the use of Nigerian music anywhere around the world. Our artistes are assured of full compensation for their works as COSON is not resting on its oars to re-write the story of our industry.

Also reacting to the news, female artiste Azeezat described the development as a giant leap in progress for Nigerian artistes and the Nigerian economy. “Being part of a global database means more returns on investment for the music business in Nigeria. Congratulations to all our members. COSON is working,” she said.