Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy

Our commitment

Nollywood CV Limited is committed to protecting the intellectual property of creators and rights holders in the Nigerian film industry and beyond. We take piracy and copyright infringement seriously and act promptly on valid reports.

This policy is issued under the Copyright Act 2022, including its provisions on online infringement and the notice-and-takedown procedure for service providers, the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024 and other applicable laws of Nigeria. NollywoodCV acts as a service provider that stores material at the request of its users.

Who owns the content on NollywoodCV

• Your content stays yours. Profile details, photographs, showreels, self-tapes, pitches, posters, articles, listings and other material you upload remain your property (or the property of whoever owns them).
• You give NollywoodCV a licence to use what you upload to run and promote the Platform, as described in section 8 of the Terms and Conditions. Private files, such as audition videos sent only to a poster, are not used for promotion.
• The Platform itself (its design, software, database, templates, name and logo) belongs to Nollywood CV Limited.
• Facts about films (titles, years, cast and crew lists) are part of the shared film database. Posters, synopses and photographs remain the property of their owners.

Your responsibilities when you upload

By uploading anything to NollywoodCV, you confirm that:

• you created it and own the copyright, or you have every licence and permission needed to upload and share it on the Platform;
• it does not infringe anyone's copyright, moral rights, trademark, privacy or other rights;
• people who appear in your photographs and videos have agreed to them being used; and
• you have not removed or got around any technical protection, digital rights management or rights information to obtain or share it.

What counts as infringement and piracy

Infringement and piracy include:

• uploading, sharing, streaming or linking to a film, series, script, music, photograph or other work without the owner's permission;
• copying or redistributing other users' content (photographs, reels, pitches, scripts or audition videos) without their written consent;
• getting around technological protection measures or digital rights management applied to a work;
• removing or changing rights management information attached to a work; and
• using another person's poster, logo or artwork in a listing, ad or film page without permission.

Prohibited activities

• Uploading any full or partial film, music video, script or other audiovisual work that you do not own or are not authorised to share.
• Downloading, screen-recording or extracting other users' content without their consent.
• Using bots, scrapers or other automated tools to copy content from the Platform.
• Linking to or embedding content from piracy sites or unauthorised streaming services, including in "Watch" links.
• Commercially exploiting content from the Platform without the rights holder's written consent.

Reporting infringement (notice and takedown)

If you own the copyright in a work, or are authorised to act for the owner, and you believe material on NollywoodCV infringes it, send a written notice to info@nollywoodcv.com with the subject line COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT NOTICE. The notice must include:

1. your full name and contact details, and whether you are the owner or an authorised agent;
2. a description of the work you say has been infringed;
3. the exact page address (URL) of the material on NollywoodCV;
4. evidence of your ownership or authority;
5. a statement, made in good faith, that the use is not authorised by the owner, its agent or the law; and
6. a declaration that the information in the notice is accurate.

You may also use the report buttons on listings, ads, film pages and campaigns, but a formal notice by email is needed for a takedown under the Copyright Act.

What we do with a notice

• We acknowledge a valid notice promptly.
• We review it and, where it is valid, remove or disable access to the material without delay.
• We tell the user who uploaded the material that it was removed and why, and give them the details needed to respond.
• We keep a record of the notice and the action taken.
• We take reasonable steps to stop the same material being uploaded again.

Sending a notice you know to be false may make you liable to the person affected.

If your content was removed by mistake (counter-notice)

If you believe material of yours was removed because of a mistake or misidentification, send a counter-notice to info@nollywoodcv.com with your full contact details, the material removed and where it was, and a good-faith statement explaining why the removal was a mistake. We will share the counter-notice with the person who sent the original notice. If they do not respond with evidence of legal action or a valid reason within the period allowed by the Copyright Act 2022, we may restore the material. Either party may also take the matter to the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

Repeat infringers

Accounts that are the subject of repeated valid infringement notices will be suspended and may be closed permanently. We decide what counts as repeated infringement from the number, nature and seriousness of the verified notices. Closure does not stop Nollywood CV Limited or the rights holder from taking further action or reporting the matter to the Nigerian Copyright Commission or the police.

Protecting your own work

• NollywoodCV keeps audition videos and photographs private, opens them only through links that expire after a few minutes, and shows full Film Market pitches only to people the owner accepts.
• We recommend watermarking pictures and videos you upload, keeping dated drafts of your scripts, and registering important works with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (copyright.gov.ng).

Consequences of a breach

• Removal of the infringing material.
• A warning, or temporary or permanent suspension of the account, without refund.
• Reporting to the Nigerian Copyright Commission or the police.
• Civil action by Nollywood CV Limited or the rights holder, including claims for damages and injunctions.

Our liability

NollywoodCV does not create or pre-screen all user material. Users are responsible for what they upload. When we receive a valid notice we act on it as the Copyright Act 2022 requires, and to the extent the law allows we are not liable for infringement committed by users.