PUBLIC NOTICE

It has come to the notice of the National Film and Video Censors Board that some unscrupulous elements operating in Alpharette, Georgia in the United States of America under the name Online Nigeria parades a forged authorization purportedly issued by this Board in respect of rights to distribute and or sell Nigerian movies on-line. The Board wishes to state categorically that the said letter is fake and indeed a forged document for the following reasons:

1. Letters to licensees are not issued from the zonal offices, but only from the Headquarters in Abuja. This particular letter was signed by a non existent officer in the Board's Port Harcourt office.

2. The official headed letter used in this particular case is not the particular design used by the Board to communicate issuance of licenses to licensees.

3. There is no category of license issued by the Board that is known as “Cinema Distributor”.

4. The Board only started issuing licenses in July, 2008 and not in March, 2008 as suggested by the forged letter.

5. Licenses issued by the Board clearly define the areas of operation as within the territory of Nigeria.

6. The Board does not license content. It registers and licenses persons and organizations to distribute and exhibit content not an individual content which the Board only censors and classifies.

7. Censorship and classification in addition to an authority to distribute or exhibit a film are normally tied to a specific licensee that has the right of distribution or exhibition over the film.

8. Even the access to a license does not absolve an individual of copyrights breaches from any criminal prosecution. Moreover, the Board cannot give license or authorization over a matter of copyright that is within the statutory purview of another agency of government.
We will however advise anyone who needs information or direction regarding the Board's licensing framework as well as other issues to go to the Board's website:

Signed:
Management.