The first inaugural lecture of the 2022/2023 session kicked off as Professor Ayoyemi Lawal-Arowolo gave an outstanding lecture on CULTURE AS CREATIVITY AND LAW: INDULGING IN THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE OF COPYRIGHT INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA.

The Law graduate from Lagos State University, and a Ph.D. holder from Kent University, gave an excellent delivery on Culture, Creative Expressions, and Jurisprudence in Nigeria. She Defined Culture as a way of life known to people in different communities or societies. It varies from Community to Community and it is often passed from generation to generation. It is a survival mechanism. Members have to learn in order to survive; they must learn skills, knowledge, and accepted ways of behaving in the society they find themselves.

The fundamentals of copyright law, creativity, and culture are introduced in the most elementary way for better understanding. Nigerian arts and culture demonstrate what is copyright and how the law regarding copyright protects the rights of creators or owners of copyrighted works. In some cases, the rights of copyright owners in cultural works are infringed unknowingly or knowingly. Therefore it is essential to create awareness of what could be regarded as an infringement on the rights over cultural expressions or expressions of folklore.

In Conclusion, she stated that culture, cultural expressions, or expressions of folklore should be thoroughly explored in Nigeria. The negative perceptions that cultural ways or expressions are inferior to western cultures or expressions should be discouraged. Traditional communities must be empowered in Nigeria, particularly in the context of creativity and access to protection mechanisms. Creators of cultural expressions should have legitimate authority over their creations whether as a community or an individual.