COSON Joins the World to Honour Copyright Guru in Harare

Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has joined the rest of the world to celebrate copyrights and related rights expert, Ulrich Uchtenhagen in Harare, Zimbabwe.

This is contained in a statement by COSON’s head of news media, May Uket, in Abuja on Friday.

It would be recalled that Uchtanhagen visited Nigeria in 1991 as a consultant of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

He was in Nigeria for nine days during which he met with virtually all the key stakeholders in the Nigerian music industry.

Uchtenhagen prepared a report which in no small measure helped to shape the collective management structure that presently exists in the country.

Okoroji, in his speech at the African Regional intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) head quarter, paid tribute to the dedication of the Swiss born Uchtenhagen to copyright issues in Africa.

He also attributed the present progress in the development of collective management system across the continent to Uchtenhagen’s key contributions.

“Collective management of copyright would remain in the doldrums in much of Africa, especially Nigeria, without the road map created by Uchtenhagen.

“As long as we continue to fulfill those ideals for which Uchtenhagen lived, then he is not dead’’. Okoroji said.

Luciano Lavizzari, the Swiss Ambassador to Zimbabwe made a bust of the Late Uchtenhagen who died on Dec. 31, 2003, in a car accident in Zimbabwe.

Lavizzari urged individuals to put in diligence in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Many speakers enumerated a long list of processes and developments in the international copyright system which were either initiated by Uchtehagen or driven by him.