REPRONIG: Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria
REPRONIG represents copyright owners in the literary field, managing reproduction rights, granting of licences, and monitoring and enforcement of copyright breaches.
An initiative of the academic community
Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria (REPRONIG) was incorporated as a collective management organisation (CMO) in Nigeria in December 2000.
The plan to establish REPRONIG began in 1994 at the Annual Copyright Forum organised by the Nigerian Copyright Council (now the Nigerian Copyright Commission) at Premier Hotel, Ibadan. A major outcome of the forum was the need for a body that would lead the creation of an organisation to assert, defend and secure the rights of authors, publishers and other stakeholders in the literary and artistic field.
Two individuals, Mr John-Willy Rudolph, a Norwegian copyright administrator, and Dr Olalere Oladitan, an academic author, spearheaded the initiative. The Academic and Non-Fiction Authors Association of Nigeria (ANFAAN) was formed, with strong support from the Norwegian Non-Fiction Writers and Translators’ Association (NFF) and the Reproduction Rights Organisation of Norway (Kopinor).
ANFAAN then took on the task of setting up a reproduction rights organisation for the print medium in Nigeria. REPRONIG, the result of that initiative, took off formally on 3 November 2003 at Book House, the secretariat of the Nigerian Publishers Association, in Jericho GRA, Ibadan, Nigeria’s book and cultural capital.
Milestones
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1994
The Nigerian Copyright Council (now the Nigerian Copyright Commission) holds its Annual Copyright Forum at Premier Hotel, Ibadan. Participants call for a body to assert, defend and secure the rights of authors, publishers and other stakeholders in the literary and artistic field.
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1995
Following a resolution passed at a workshop in November 1994, the Academic and Non-Fiction Authors Association of Nigeria (ANFAAN) is formed and charged with setting up a reproduction rights organisation.
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2000
REPRONIG is incorporated on 11 December 2000 as a collective management organisation for the rights of authors in the literary field.
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2001
The Nigerian Copyright Commission approves REPRONIG to operate as a reproduction rights organisation.
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2003
REPRONIG formally takes off on 3 November 2003 at Book House, the secretariat of the Nigerian Publishers Association, Quarter 673, Jericho GRA, Ibadan.
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2025
REPRONIG convenes a national webinar on licensing reprographic reproduction in higher education.
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2026
The Board approves a new Strategic Plan and the Digital Rights Management System (DRMS) goes live for rightsholders, associations and institutions.
What we are here to do
The primary mandate of REPRONIG is the collective management of rights in literary works, including images embedded in such works.
Individual authors and publishers cannot license every school, university and office that copies their work. REPRONIG does it for them: one licence gives users legal access to a large repertoire of local and foreign titles, and the fees collected are paid back to rightsholders.
- Identification of users and potential licensees
- Negotiation and granting of licences
- Collection and distribution of royalties
- Monitoring and enforcement of copyright breaches
- Collaboration with relevant institutions, agencies and rightsholder associations
- International representation
Legal framework
REPRONIG operates under the Copyright Act and the Copyright (Collective Management Organizations) Regulations, with approval from the NCC.
International partners
A member of IFRRO, with links to sister organisations around the world.
Board of Directors
The board that governs the society on behalf of its members.
Secretariat
The team in Ibadan that runs licensing, membership and distribution.
Mission, vision and values
Mission statement
To build an efficient rights management system for literary works.
Vision
To ensure fair recompense for right holders in literary works.