Everyone’s on TikTok now… from students dancing in their hostels, to comedians blowing up overnight, to beauty influencers building brands faster than most companies. Nollywood is churning out movies at record pace. And AI? It’s writing scripts, generating music, even creating digital “actors” that never age, never demand salaries, and never get tired.
It sounds exciting, but there’s a big ugly question in the middle of all this: how do you protect your work when anyone, anywhere, can copy, remix, or even “deepfake” it in seconds?
Here’s the reality. Intellectual property theft isn’t an abstract idea anymore. It’s happening daily. In 2024, Nigeria’s Copyright Commission recorded a 20% increase in digital piracy cases, with TikTok and streaming platforms topping the list. And let’s be honest: if you’ve ever had your skit reposted without credit or your film ripped and uploaded to Telegram channels, you know the pain.
The mistake many Nigerian creators make is thinking: “I don’t need legal protection until I blow up.” But by then, it’s often too late. Imagine you create a short skit that suddenly goes viral, gets millions of views, and brands start using it in ads without your permission. Without proof of ownership or registration, fighting for your rights is like shouting in the market square… everyone hears you, but no one takes you seriously.
Here’s where things get interesting. Nigerian law actually has your back, but only if you use it. Copyright automatically protects your original work (music, scripts, films, designs) the moment it’s created. Trademarks can shield your brand name, stage name, or even a unique slogan you’re building. And contracts… yes, those boring papers most creatives hate, are your lifeline when collaborating with brands, production houses, or record labels.
Think about it this way: Nollywood’s highest-grossing film in 2024 pulled in ₦1.4 billion at the Nigerian box office. Do you think that happened without airtight contracts for distribution, royalties, and licensing? No chance. The money follows the paperwork.
AI has only made this more urgent. There are now AI models trained to mimic Nigerian voices, write Yoruba or Hausa-inspired songs, and even generate “Nollywood-looking” scripts. That means if you don’t register your work or establish proof of ownership, the line between your creation and AI’s remix of it becomes dangerously blurry.
One musician told me how his track was cloned by an AI tool, slightly remixed, and uploaded on Spotify by someone in another country. He found out only after fans tagged him. It took him three months of back-and-forth with the platform before it was pulled down. If he’d had his rights documented and properly registered, that fight would’ve been days, not months.
The point is simple: 2025 is not the year to “hope for the best” as a creator. Whether you’re dancing on TikTok, shooting Nollywood films, or experimenting with AI-generated content, you need to treat your ideas like gold. Protect them before they go public.
At Polaris Solicitors, we’ve worked with Nigerian creators to register copyrights, trademarks, draft contracts, and even handle messy disputes when their work was stolen. If you’re creating in this digital age, don’t gamble with your future. Call us on 08034358887, WhatsApp 09020485947, or email legal@polarissolicitors.com.
Because in today’s Nigeria, protecting your ideas isn’t optional, it’s survival.