The Journal of World Intellectual Property, May 31, 2022
It is arguable that the most significant feature of the maiden Paris Convention is the creation o... more It is arguable that the most significant feature of the maiden Paris Convention is the creation of a remarkably broad national policy space which allowed Union members to balance the implementation of required obligations with the need to occasionally attend to national exigencies. Thus, a member may choose not to offer industrial property protection if national interests would be best served by doing so. While subsequent revisions to the Paris Convention chipped away at national flexibilities, the most strident attack to national flexibilities occurs under the Agreement for the Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the period after it. This paper puts the almost‐unnoticed whittling down of national flexibilities in international patent agreements in historical perspective. It subsequently discusses four ways through which this development could exacerbate access‐to‐medicines in low‐and‐middle‐income‐countries.
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law
With the access-to-medicines conundrum facing its populations, the East African Community has ado... more With the access-to-medicines conundrum facing its populations, the East African Community has adopted a policy framework which promotes a collective approach to resolving the access gap in the region. To this end, crucial policy documents on the implementation of TRIPS obligations, harmonisation of drug regulation and boosting regional manufacturing capacity have been adopted. This paper is a case study of the regional policy on the implementation of TRIPS obligations, specifically examining the extent to which partner states’ implementation of TRIPS obligations mirrors the regional recommendations. The paper finds that, while many partner states follow the regional recommendations on implementing TRIPS obligations, coherence remains a big challenge. This, the paper concludes, may affect the overall usefulness of a regional approach to solving the access conundrum.
Copyright as one of the branches intellectual property is protected under the Nigerian Copyright ... more Copyright as one of the branches intellectual property is protected under the Nigerian Copyright Act 1988 as amended (the Act) and it is so protected upon the fulfillment of certain requirements. The Act protects literary works, artistic works, musical works, cinematograph films, sound recordings and broadcasts and makes it a punishable offence for any person who uses these works without the prior permission of the right holders. The law protects copyright because the copyright-based industries are known or regarded as one of the contributors to the gross domestic products (GDP) of any country. Apart from encouraging creativity, a suitable copyright regime also engenders employment as well as income generation. The reverse is that where there is no effective copyright enforcement, authors will lose income and thereby will not be encouraged to further create; there would no employment in the copyright-based industries (CBIs) and associated industries; and importantly, the government ...
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 2018
For over two decades, the collective management of rights in the Nigerian music industry has witn... more For over two decades, the collective management of rights in the Nigerian music industry has witnessed a fierce rivalry between the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN). While the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) approved the former, it refused to approve the latter. Despite this, MCSN has continually acted as a CMO; a development that has led to litigations between it and rights users on the one hand, and between it and the NCC and COSON on the other. However, in March 2017 the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) mandated the immediate approval of MCSN as a permanent solution to the industry’s problem. This article focuses on this approval. Apart from examining the legality of the AGF’s directive and the likely effect(s) of a multiplicity of CMOs on the music industry, the article also proffers measures that may help reposition collective management in the industry for optimal performance.
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 2017
Sections 7 and 8 of the Nigerian Copyright Act (Cap C28) confer an exclusive right on the owners ... more Sections 7 and 8 of the Nigerian Copyright Act (Cap C28) confer an exclusive right on the owners of copyright in musical works and sound recordings. This exclusive right can be managed individually or collectively, even though the odds are against individual management where secondary uses are involved. Collective management has therefore been the preferred option in most countries. The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) registered the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) as the sole Collective Management Organisation (CMO) for musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria in 2010. This paper evaluates the efforts of COSON concerning the collective management of its members’ rights. Using both desk-review of existing literature and interviews with key officials of COSON, the paper analyses COSON’s rights management efforts, examines the level of government regulation of its activities, and identifies and discusses the challenges militating against its effectiveness. Finally, the paper suggests both legal and policy measures which may improve the efficiency of collective rights management for the music industry.
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2016
Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surpri... more Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surprise that most developed countries often update their trade mark laws to reflect modern trends. The same thing cannot be said of trade mark laws of many developing countries such as Nigeria where, for example, marks are regulated by the Trade Marks Act (NTMA) 1965, this being a replica of the UK Trade Marks Act 1938 (UKTMA 1938). As detailed as the 1938 UK Act was, scholarly opinion agreed that it was poorly drafted and deficient in many respects. This deficiency was wholly inherited by Nigeria. Fifty years after enactment, the NTMA remains unamended. This legislative inertia prompts this article to discuss and analyse some salient but deficient provisions of the NTMA, with a view to drawing the attention of foreign trade mark proprietors to the position of the NTMA on selected issues of importance. This analysis will help foreign trade mark proprietors to make investment decisions vis-a-vis their marks in Nigeria. The article concludes by suggesting a replacement of the current Act with new legislation which will take cognizance of recent developments in international trade mark administration and practice.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION HANDBOOK for LAW CLINICS, 2015
Freedom of Information Handbook for Law Clinics has been written to provide a guide to law teache... more Freedom of Information Handbook for Law Clinics has been written to provide a guide to law teachers, law students and other persons working in the Law Clinics, human rights, access to justice and governance projects and programmes in Nigeria. The Handbook provides a basic text for the training of law teachers, students, supervisors and other actors on the use of the Freedom of Information Act. It includes a detailed curriculum and lessons on Freedom of Information. Since this is an emerging subject with limited judicial intervention, few judicial decisions published on the website of the Right to Know- R2K have been included (with R2K’s permission) in this volume. The Handbook is written by experienced law clinicians in Nigeria. Teachers, students and other governance trainers and users will find this handbook very useful. We thank the Open Society Foundation for supporting the publication of this book.
This Street Law: Freedom of Information Manual was written to provide teaching and learning resou... more This Street Law: Freedom of Information Manual was written to provide teaching and learning resource that will assist in the promotion and use of the Freedom of Information Act. It supports the earlier publication of Freedom of Information: Handbook for Law Clinics (2015). The manual focuses on street law education. It provides guidance and methodologies to assist University based Law Clinic students to teach freedom of information and its use in street law in schools and community outreach programmes. The manual is written in simple language to allow secondary school level students and local community members educate themselves on freedom of information with little or no assistance by facilitators.
Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surpri... more Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surprise that most developed countries often update their trade mark laws to reflect modern trends. The same thing cannot be said of trade mark laws of many developing countries such as Nigeria where, for example, marks are regulated by the Trade Marks Act (NTMA) 1965, this being a replica of the UK Trade Marks Act 1938 (UKTMA 1938). As detailed as the 1938 UK Act was, scholarly opinion agreed that it was poorly drafted and deficient in many respects. This deficiency was wholly inherited by Nigeria. Fifty years after enactment, the NTMA remains unamended.
This legislative inertia prompts this article to discuss and analyse some salient but deficient provisions of the NTMA, with a view to drawing the attention of foreign trade mark proprietors to the position of the NTMA on selected issues of importance. This analysis will help foreign trade mark proprietors to make investment decisions vis-à-vis their marks in Nigeria.
The article concludes by suggesting a replacement of the current Act with new legislation which will take cognizance of recent developments in international trade mark administration and practice.
ABSTRACT
A knowledge-based economy is one driven by knowledge as opposed to the one dependent on... more ABSTRACT
A knowledge-based economy is one driven by knowledge as opposed to the one dependent on human physical and laborious efforts. Copyright, patents, trademarks and industrial designs are all intangible properties which positively drive this knowledge-based economy and generate humongous income for the government of countries where these IPRs are adequately protected. The major fall-out however is that once these intangible IPRs are reduced into tangible products, they are susceptible to massive piracy and counterfeiting. Thus, an unscrupulous individual can reproduce, distribute or adapt copyright works without any prior authorization from the right holders. In the same vein, the goodwill already acquired by a trademark can be free-ridden upon by dishonest competitors, just like an invention can be reverse-engineered by persons who have not invested any resources in the R&D processes. It is as a result of these possibilities that the government of most countries the world over put in place tight enforcement mechanisms to be manned by intellectual property offices (IPOs) to protect citizens’ intellectual creations.
Following from the foregoing, this paper seeks to critically appraise the role of NCC in copyright enforcement in Nigeria. This is achieved by critiquing the various enforcement initiatives put in place by the Commission for the protection of copyright in all the works recognised under the Copyright Act. This paper will particularly review some of the regulations made for or by the Commission to combat copyright infringements. To test the practical workings of these regulations, the paper relies on data generated from selected respondents from the Ilorin metropolis in Kwara State of Nigeria. The paper finds, among others, that while some of these enforcement drives have yielded positive results in the sub-urban towns like Lagos, Abuja, Aba and Onitsha; others have remained uneventful in hinterland places like Ilorin because of lack of adequate financial and human resources. In concluding, the paper suggests ways through which the existing loopholes can be effectively plugged for the benefit of the copyright based industries (CBIs) and the government.
The prevalence of the offence of rape is on the increase on a daily basis the world over. It seem... more The prevalence of the offence of rape is on the increase on a daily basis the world over. It seems to be commoner in the African Continent and particularly in Nigeria where gory stories of defilement of young girls decorate the pages of newspapers on a daily basis. One will expect that in a criminally charged atmosphere such as this, the law will be designed to punish culpable offenders and rehabilitate victims. This, however, is not the case. This paper therefore seeks to examine the Nigerian Criminal Law on rape (in Southern Nigeria) with particular emphasis on how the law defines the essential ingredients of that offence, namely: penetration, corroboration and non-consent. It also examines the interpretative approach of the Nigerian courts vis-à-vis these requirements. Resulting from the difficulty faced by the courts when dealing with the corroboration requirement, the paper suggests that the Nigerian Criminal Code be amended to reflect the practice in England under which it is no longer necessary for the judge or jury to warn itself before convicting on uncorroborated testimony of the prosecutrix. The paper concludes by making far reaching recommendations aimed at giving some respites to victims of rape in Nigeria.
The Journal of World Intellectual Property, May 31, 2022
It is arguable that the most significant feature of the maiden Paris Convention is the creation o... more It is arguable that the most significant feature of the maiden Paris Convention is the creation of a remarkably broad national policy space which allowed Union members to balance the implementation of required obligations with the need to occasionally attend to national exigencies. Thus, a member may choose not to offer industrial property protection if national interests would be best served by doing so. While subsequent revisions to the Paris Convention chipped away at national flexibilities, the most strident attack to national flexibilities occurs under the Agreement for the Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the period after it. This paper puts the almost‐unnoticed whittling down of national flexibilities in international patent agreements in historical perspective. It subsequently discusses four ways through which this development could exacerbate access‐to‐medicines in low‐and‐middle‐income‐countries.
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law
With the access-to-medicines conundrum facing its populations, the East African Community has ado... more With the access-to-medicines conundrum facing its populations, the East African Community has adopted a policy framework which promotes a collective approach to resolving the access gap in the region. To this end, crucial policy documents on the implementation of TRIPS obligations, harmonisation of drug regulation and boosting regional manufacturing capacity have been adopted. This paper is a case study of the regional policy on the implementation of TRIPS obligations, specifically examining the extent to which partner states’ implementation of TRIPS obligations mirrors the regional recommendations. The paper finds that, while many partner states follow the regional recommendations on implementing TRIPS obligations, coherence remains a big challenge. This, the paper concludes, may affect the overall usefulness of a regional approach to solving the access conundrum.
Copyright as one of the branches intellectual property is protected under the Nigerian Copyright ... more Copyright as one of the branches intellectual property is protected under the Nigerian Copyright Act 1988 as amended (the Act) and it is so protected upon the fulfillment of certain requirements. The Act protects literary works, artistic works, musical works, cinematograph films, sound recordings and broadcasts and makes it a punishable offence for any person who uses these works without the prior permission of the right holders. The law protects copyright because the copyright-based industries are known or regarded as one of the contributors to the gross domestic products (GDP) of any country. Apart from encouraging creativity, a suitable copyright regime also engenders employment as well as income generation. The reverse is that where there is no effective copyright enforcement, authors will lose income and thereby will not be encouraged to further create; there would no employment in the copyright-based industries (CBIs) and associated industries; and importantly, the government ...
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 2018
For over two decades, the collective management of rights in the Nigerian music industry has witn... more For over two decades, the collective management of rights in the Nigerian music industry has witnessed a fierce rivalry between the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) and the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN). While the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) approved the former, it refused to approve the latter. Despite this, MCSN has continually acted as a CMO; a development that has led to litigations between it and rights users on the one hand, and between it and the NCC and COSON on the other. However, in March 2017 the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) mandated the immediate approval of MCSN as a permanent solution to the industry’s problem. This article focuses on this approval. Apart from examining the legality of the AGF’s directive and the likely effect(s) of a multiplicity of CMOs on the music industry, the article also proffers measures that may help reposition collective management in the industry for optimal performance.
IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, 2017
Sections 7 and 8 of the Nigerian Copyright Act (Cap C28) confer an exclusive right on the owners ... more Sections 7 and 8 of the Nigerian Copyright Act (Cap C28) confer an exclusive right on the owners of copyright in musical works and sound recordings. This exclusive right can be managed individually or collectively, even though the odds are against individual management where secondary uses are involved. Collective management has therefore been the preferred option in most countries. The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) registered the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) as the sole Collective Management Organisation (CMO) for musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria in 2010. This paper evaluates the efforts of COSON concerning the collective management of its members’ rights. Using both desk-review of existing literature and interviews with key officials of COSON, the paper analyses COSON’s rights management efforts, examines the level of government regulation of its activities, and identifies and discusses the challenges militating against its effectiveness. Finally, the paper suggests both legal and policy measures which may improve the efficiency of collective rights management for the music industry.
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2016
Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surpri... more Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surprise that most developed countries often update their trade mark laws to reflect modern trends. The same thing cannot be said of trade mark laws of many developing countries such as Nigeria where, for example, marks are regulated by the Trade Marks Act (NTMA) 1965, this being a replica of the UK Trade Marks Act 1938 (UKTMA 1938). As detailed as the 1938 UK Act was, scholarly opinion agreed that it was poorly drafted and deficient in many respects. This deficiency was wholly inherited by Nigeria. Fifty years after enactment, the NTMA remains unamended. This legislative inertia prompts this article to discuss and analyse some salient but deficient provisions of the NTMA, with a view to drawing the attention of foreign trade mark proprietors to the position of the NTMA on selected issues of importance. This analysis will help foreign trade mark proprietors to make investment decisions vis-a-vis their marks in Nigeria. The article concludes by suggesting a replacement of the current Act with new legislation which will take cognizance of recent developments in international trade mark administration and practice.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION HANDBOOK for LAW CLINICS, 2015
Freedom of Information Handbook for Law Clinics has been written to provide a guide to law teache... more Freedom of Information Handbook for Law Clinics has been written to provide a guide to law teachers, law students and other persons working in the Law Clinics, human rights, access to justice and governance projects and programmes in Nigeria. The Handbook provides a basic text for the training of law teachers, students, supervisors and other actors on the use of the Freedom of Information Act. It includes a detailed curriculum and lessons on Freedom of Information. Since this is an emerging subject with limited judicial intervention, few judicial decisions published on the website of the Right to Know- R2K have been included (with R2K’s permission) in this volume. The Handbook is written by experienced law clinicians in Nigeria. Teachers, students and other governance trainers and users will find this handbook very useful. We thank the Open Society Foundation for supporting the publication of this book.
This Street Law: Freedom of Information Manual was written to provide teaching and learning resou... more This Street Law: Freedom of Information Manual was written to provide teaching and learning resource that will assist in the promotion and use of the Freedom of Information Act. It supports the earlier publication of Freedom of Information: Handbook for Law Clinics (2015). The manual focuses on street law education. It provides guidance and methodologies to assist University based Law Clinic students to teach freedom of information and its use in street law in schools and community outreach programmes. The manual is written in simple language to allow secondary school level students and local community members educate themselves on freedom of information with little or no assistance by facilitators.
Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surpri... more Since trade marks are crucial to the promotion of trade and economic development, it is no surprise that most developed countries often update their trade mark laws to reflect modern trends. The same thing cannot be said of trade mark laws of many developing countries such as Nigeria where, for example, marks are regulated by the Trade Marks Act (NTMA) 1965, this being a replica of the UK Trade Marks Act 1938 (UKTMA 1938). As detailed as the 1938 UK Act was, scholarly opinion agreed that it was poorly drafted and deficient in many respects. This deficiency was wholly inherited by Nigeria. Fifty years after enactment, the NTMA remains unamended.
This legislative inertia prompts this article to discuss and analyse some salient but deficient provisions of the NTMA, with a view to drawing the attention of foreign trade mark proprietors to the position of the NTMA on selected issues of importance. This analysis will help foreign trade mark proprietors to make investment decisions vis-à-vis their marks in Nigeria.
The article concludes by suggesting a replacement of the current Act with new legislation which will take cognizance of recent developments in international trade mark administration and practice.
ABSTRACT
A knowledge-based economy is one driven by knowledge as opposed to the one dependent on... more ABSTRACT
A knowledge-based economy is one driven by knowledge as opposed to the one dependent on human physical and laborious efforts. Copyright, patents, trademarks and industrial designs are all intangible properties which positively drive this knowledge-based economy and generate humongous income for the government of countries where these IPRs are adequately protected. The major fall-out however is that once these intangible IPRs are reduced into tangible products, they are susceptible to massive piracy and counterfeiting. Thus, an unscrupulous individual can reproduce, distribute or adapt copyright works without any prior authorization from the right holders. In the same vein, the goodwill already acquired by a trademark can be free-ridden upon by dishonest competitors, just like an invention can be reverse-engineered by persons who have not invested any resources in the R&D processes. It is as a result of these possibilities that the government of most countries the world over put in place tight enforcement mechanisms to be manned by intellectual property offices (IPOs) to protect citizens’ intellectual creations.
Following from the foregoing, this paper seeks to critically appraise the role of NCC in copyright enforcement in Nigeria. This is achieved by critiquing the various enforcement initiatives put in place by the Commission for the protection of copyright in all the works recognised under the Copyright Act. This paper will particularly review some of the regulations made for or by the Commission to combat copyright infringements. To test the practical workings of these regulations, the paper relies on data generated from selected respondents from the Ilorin metropolis in Kwara State of Nigeria. The paper finds, among others, that while some of these enforcement drives have yielded positive results in the sub-urban towns like Lagos, Abuja, Aba and Onitsha; others have remained uneventful in hinterland places like Ilorin because of lack of adequate financial and human resources. In concluding, the paper suggests ways through which the existing loopholes can be effectively plugged for the benefit of the copyright based industries (CBIs) and the government.
The prevalence of the offence of rape is on the increase on a daily basis the world over. It seem... more The prevalence of the offence of rape is on the increase on a daily basis the world over. It seems to be commoner in the African Continent and particularly in Nigeria where gory stories of defilement of young girls decorate the pages of newspapers on a daily basis. One will expect that in a criminally charged atmosphere such as this, the law will be designed to punish culpable offenders and rehabilitate victims. This, however, is not the case. This paper therefore seeks to examine the Nigerian Criminal Law on rape (in Southern Nigeria) with particular emphasis on how the law defines the essential ingredients of that offence, namely: penetration, corroboration and non-consent. It also examines the interpretative approach of the Nigerian courts vis-à-vis these requirements. Resulting from the difficulty faced by the courts when dealing with the corroboration requirement, the paper suggests that the Nigerian Criminal Code be amended to reflect the practice in England under which it is no longer necessary for the judge or jury to warn itself before convicting on uncorroborated testimony of the prosecutrix. The paper concludes by making far reaching recommendations aimed at giving some respites to victims of rape in Nigeria.
Uploads
The Handbook provides a basic text for the training of law teachers, students, supervisors and other actors on the use of the Freedom of Information Act. It includes a detailed curriculum and lessons on Freedom of Information.
Since this is an emerging subject with limited judicial intervention, few judicial decisions published on the website of the Right to Know- R2K have been included (with R2K’s permission) in this volume.
The Handbook is written by experienced law clinicians in Nigeria. Teachers, students and other governance trainers and users will find this handbook very useful.
We thank the Open Society Foundation for supporting the publication of this book.
The manual focuses on street law education. It provides guidance and methodologies to assist University based Law Clinic students to teach freedom of information and its use in street law in schools and community outreach programmes. The manual is written in simple language to allow secondary school level students and local community members educate themselves on freedom of information with little or no assistance by facilitators.
This legislative inertia prompts this article to discuss and analyse some salient but deficient provisions of the NTMA, with a view to drawing the attention of foreign trade mark proprietors to the position of the NTMA on selected issues of importance. This analysis will help foreign trade mark proprietors to make investment decisions vis-à-vis their marks in Nigeria.
The article concludes by suggesting a replacement of the current Act with new legislation which will take cognizance of recent developments in international trade mark administration and practice.
A knowledge-based economy is one driven by knowledge as opposed to the one dependent on human physical and laborious efforts. Copyright, patents, trademarks and industrial designs are all intangible properties which positively drive this knowledge-based economy and generate humongous income for the government of countries where these IPRs are adequately protected. The major fall-out however is that once these intangible IPRs are reduced into tangible products, they are susceptible to massive piracy and counterfeiting. Thus, an unscrupulous individual can reproduce, distribute or adapt copyright works without any prior authorization from the right holders. In the same vein, the goodwill already acquired by a trademark can be free-ridden upon by dishonest competitors, just like an invention can be reverse-engineered by persons who have not invested any resources in the R&D processes. It is as a result of these possibilities that the government of most countries the world over put in place tight enforcement mechanisms to be manned by intellectual property offices (IPOs) to protect citizens’ intellectual creations.
Following from the foregoing, this paper seeks to critically appraise the role of NCC in copyright enforcement in Nigeria. This is achieved by critiquing the various enforcement initiatives put in place by the Commission for the protection of copyright in all the works recognised under the Copyright Act. This paper will particularly review some of the regulations made for or by the Commission to combat copyright infringements. To test the practical workings of these regulations, the paper relies on data generated from selected respondents from the Ilorin metropolis in Kwara State of Nigeria. The paper finds, among others, that while some of these enforcement drives have yielded positive results in the sub-urban towns like Lagos, Abuja, Aba and Onitsha; others have remained uneventful in hinterland places like Ilorin because of lack of adequate financial and human resources. In concluding, the paper suggests ways through which the existing loopholes can be effectively plugged for the benefit of the copyright based industries (CBIs) and the government.
Keywords: Copyright, Copyright Enforcement, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Nigerian Copyright Regulations, Nigerian Copyright Act
The Handbook provides a basic text for the training of law teachers, students, supervisors and other actors on the use of the Freedom of Information Act. It includes a detailed curriculum and lessons on Freedom of Information.
Since this is an emerging subject with limited judicial intervention, few judicial decisions published on the website of the Right to Know- R2K have been included (with R2K’s permission) in this volume.
The Handbook is written by experienced law clinicians in Nigeria. Teachers, students and other governance trainers and users will find this handbook very useful.
We thank the Open Society Foundation for supporting the publication of this book.
The manual focuses on street law education. It provides guidance and methodologies to assist University based Law Clinic students to teach freedom of information and its use in street law in schools and community outreach programmes. The manual is written in simple language to allow secondary school level students and local community members educate themselves on freedom of information with little or no assistance by facilitators.
This legislative inertia prompts this article to discuss and analyse some salient but deficient provisions of the NTMA, with a view to drawing the attention of foreign trade mark proprietors to the position of the NTMA on selected issues of importance. This analysis will help foreign trade mark proprietors to make investment decisions vis-à-vis their marks in Nigeria.
The article concludes by suggesting a replacement of the current Act with new legislation which will take cognizance of recent developments in international trade mark administration and practice.
A knowledge-based economy is one driven by knowledge as opposed to the one dependent on human physical and laborious efforts. Copyright, patents, trademarks and industrial designs are all intangible properties which positively drive this knowledge-based economy and generate humongous income for the government of countries where these IPRs are adequately protected. The major fall-out however is that once these intangible IPRs are reduced into tangible products, they are susceptible to massive piracy and counterfeiting. Thus, an unscrupulous individual can reproduce, distribute or adapt copyright works without any prior authorization from the right holders. In the same vein, the goodwill already acquired by a trademark can be free-ridden upon by dishonest competitors, just like an invention can be reverse-engineered by persons who have not invested any resources in the R&D processes. It is as a result of these possibilities that the government of most countries the world over put in place tight enforcement mechanisms to be manned by intellectual property offices (IPOs) to protect citizens’ intellectual creations.
Following from the foregoing, this paper seeks to critically appraise the role of NCC in copyright enforcement in Nigeria. This is achieved by critiquing the various enforcement initiatives put in place by the Commission for the protection of copyright in all the works recognised under the Copyright Act. This paper will particularly review some of the regulations made for or by the Commission to combat copyright infringements. To test the practical workings of these regulations, the paper relies on data generated from selected respondents from the Ilorin metropolis in Kwara State of Nigeria. The paper finds, among others, that while some of these enforcement drives have yielded positive results in the sub-urban towns like Lagos, Abuja, Aba and Onitsha; others have remained uneventful in hinterland places like Ilorin because of lack of adequate financial and human resources. In concluding, the paper suggests ways through which the existing loopholes can be effectively plugged for the benefit of the copyright based industries (CBIs) and the government.
Keywords: Copyright, Copyright Enforcement, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Nigerian Copyright Regulations, Nigerian Copyright Act