AVRS takes sensitization campaign to Delta, Edo

The leadership of the Audio-Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS) will flag of its sensitization campaign of the South-South from Asaba, Delta State next week as part of its ongoing efforts at sensitizing various stakeholders on the workings of the Collective Management Organisation (CMO) for the audio-visual sector.

The stakeholder’s forum according to the General Manager of the AVRS Eme Akiba-Eyo will take place on Tuesday April 21, 2015 at Orchid Hotel, Asaba at 10am.  Expected at the forum will be various levels of stakeholders, leaders of guilds and associations, right owners, users of audio-visual products and some members of the Board of the AVRS. “The Chairman of the AVRS Mr. Mahmmod Ali-Balogun will lead the talks at the forum and will be supported by other Board members”, the GM hinted. She also disclosed that the team would head to Benin City on Wednesday for another session with stakeholders of that axis. “Having secured the license to operate as a CMO from the Nigerian Copyright Commission, we feel that we should embark on more advocacy and enlightenment across the country. From Delta and Edo, we shall be heading to the other geographical zones and then to the states until we can get all the stakeholders on board,” Eme said.

It will be recalled that after a painstaking process of verification and assessment, the NCC came to the conclusion that AVRS has complied with all relevant statutory requirements, under the Copyright Act, cap C28, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004; and the Copyright (CMO Regulations) 2007. Therefore, the Commission on November 20, 2014 in Abuja presented to AVRS the Certificate of Approval to operate as the sole collective management organization for audio visual works, comprising of films and other audio visual works in broadcast media and similar media.