Nigeria's Metro Digital copyright dispute headed for court

In the wake of copyright infringement claims and subsequent raids by government operatives on Metro Digital, the company has denied all piracy charges and is bringing several lawsuits against the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the country's chief enforcer of copyright laws.

In June, NCC pointed to a raid on Metro Digital, a satellite and cable television provider, as part of a get-tough policy countering broadcast and software piracy in the country.

However, Metro Digital has filed lawsuits against the NCC for trespassing and human-rights violations. The cases are before Justice G.K. Olotu of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, who has fixed hearing dates for October 14 and November 6. Metro Digital, based in Port Harcourt, is asking for damages of more than US$200,000.

Metro Digital also has a monopoly practices case pending against a competing cable TV company, Entertainment Highway Limited (HiTV), which initiated the complaints against it that led to the raids, according to John Nwafor, managing director of Metro Digital.

"We had cause to write Metro Digital and its alter ego, Mr. John Nwafor, in respect of the piracy of our sporting channels," said Charles Ebuebu, head of legal and regulatory affairs at HiTV, in a letter to the IDG News service. HiTV had acquired the rights to the English Premier League (EPL) for Nigeria for a three-year period beginning from the 2007/2008 season.

"The signals to the EPL matches meant for the mid-east territory were illegally down-linked by the use of Showtime smart cards purchased in the mid-east and re-transmitted to subscribers in the Port Harcourt, Onitsha and Asaba areas of the country by Metro Digital," Ebuebu said."Consequently and upon an incessant breach of our rights to the matches by Metro Digital as stated above, a report was made to the NCC," he said. “On further noncompliance by Metro Digital ... antipiracy enforcement raids were conducted by the NCC on the premises of Metro Digital." The raids took place on Dec. 30, 2007, and on May 6.

NCC spokesman Olisa Obi corroborated HiTV's account in a telephone interview.

Metro Digital's Nwafor, however, says the raids were not conducted in accordance with legal procedures, and that HiTV exerted improper influence on the NCC to initiate its investigation. Nwafor also disputes the characterization, by the NCC and in press reports, of his subsequent treatment by authorities as an "arrest."

In an e-mail to the IDG News Service, Nwafor claimed in part that NCC "invaded the broadcast stations of Metro Digital Limited in Port Harcourt on December 30th 2007, using about 25 armed policemen rented from a local police station without a court order or search warrants as required by the Nigeria law. They vandalized the facility using knives and pliers to cut transmission lines from transmitters and damaged almost everything that has any value at the broadcast station. They left no information on why they vandalized the facility. They also carried away most of the damaged equipment."

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.