ABSTRACT
Copyrights are exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work. Copyright does not protect ideas, only their expression or fixation. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time. However despite such protection in place there are certain instances wherein uses which are covered under the limitations and exceptions to copyright such as fair use and fair dealing, do not require permission from the copyright owner. This project seeks to examine the concept of fair dealing which is a product of the English law as a possible defence against an action for infringement of an exclusive right of copyright and instances in which it would be applicable and also see how it has operated in the American legal system albeit known as fair use all in a bid to ensure that the use of copyrighted work will not be seen as an infringement if it does not in any way hurt the pecuniary interests of the owner of the work. This would be done with the Nigerian copyrights act serving as a guide and also contain relevant case laws to throw more light on these vital issues, Nigerian, English and American case laws inclusive. Finally this project work shall conclude by making viable recommendations as to how these aspects of copyright laws should be expanded to cope with the current issues associated with copyright infringement with regards to fair use and fair dealing.
