Business
Commandclem, Inventor of QIT Paints, Says Appeal Court
The Court of Appeal has ruled that Dr. Clement Uwemedimo of Commandclem Nigeria Limited is the statutory inventor of the Anti-Corrosive Special Paint for QIT (Transteel Blue, White Enamel) used in the production of crude oil, condensate, liquefied natural gas and other products.
In a judgement delivered by Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs, the Appeal Court, Calabar Division, held that on the basis of Section 2 of the Patents and Designs Act Cap 433, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990, the right to a patent in respect of an invention is vested in the statutory inventor, that is to say, the person who, whether or not he is the true inventor, is the first to file, or validly to claim a foreign priority for a patent application in respect of the invention.
Justice Akaahs said the evidence adduced by Dr. Uwemedimo and Commandclem Nigeria Limited dates back to 1980 when the right to sue on the patent had accrued, noting that any infringement by the respondents or any other person will be actionable at the instance of the appellants starting from August 5, 1999 when the patent was registered by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He said: “The learned trial judge was right to hold that at the time the defendant was said to have infringed plaintiff’s patent in the early 1980s, the plaintiffs did not have any patent to be infringed.
The plaintiffs only obtained their patent No. RP 13522 on August 5, 1999. At the time the Court of Appeal ruled that the claims in paragraph 29 (iii) (iv), (v) and (viii) of the Amended Statement of Claim were not affected by the Limitation Law, there was no consideration of the evidence to be adduced. If the evidence sustaining the reliefs fell between 1999 and 2001, the action would be maintained. “I am of the view that the respondent can enjoy the benefit created by S.2(4) of the Patents and Designs Act when a contract was subsisting between the parties at the time of the invention.”
On the issue of agreement between Dr. Uwemedimo or CommandClem Nigeria Limited and Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, to pay to Uwemedimo US$2.00 per barrel for every petroleum product produced by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Justice Akaahs held that the law does not require that every contract must be in writing unless it is a contract made under seal or it is required by statute.
He said: “If indeed there was any verbal agreement made by the defendants (Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited) to pay the sum of $2.00 for every barrel of crude oil produced, the plaintiffs (Uwemedimo) were too hasty in making their “invention” known within so short a time between the first contact by the first plaintiff with the defendants on May 2, 1980 and the research results on June 26, 1980 as chronicled in exhibit 8A.
Justice Akaahs ruled that he did not agree that an agreement to pay $2.00 per barrel of every petroleum product to the plaintiffs would necessarily be against public policy.
He said: “There is no evidence to presume that the agreement being envisaged was to circumvent the provisions in the Petroleum Act or that it will prevent Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from paying royalties to the Federal Government. An agreement freely entered into by the parties will be enforceable unless the agreement will facilitate the commission of a crime or breach any law.”
Troops of the Nigerian Navy conducting Operation “Dakatar Da Barawo” confiscated crude oil and other illegally refined products worth N2.7billion in June.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan in Abuja.
“The various NN platforms deployed for ‘Operation Dakatar Da Barawo, Calm Waters 11’ and Tripartite Joint Border Patrol, have continued to sustain aggressive patrols to curb the menace of crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering.
“Accordingly, several Illegal Refining Sites (IRS), metal storage tanks, wooden boats, dugout pits and ovens were destroyed between June 13 and June 19”.
He said five suspects were and the operatives destroyed 14 Illegal refining sites.
The Navy also said that 80 storage tanks, 22 wooden boats, 40 ovens, two-speed boats, a tanker, truck, barge and a Toyota Sienna car were recovered during the various operations during the period.
Similarly, Navy ship VICTORY in Cross River intercepted and impounded three wooden boats laden with drums of suspected illegally Refined Petrol (PMS) around Ikang channel, suspected to be transported to Cameroon.
However, the Navy said, the boats, as well as the products, were taken into custody.
Ayo-Vaughan said,”Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny in Rivers” also intercepted two wooden boats laden with about 400,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil at Iwokiri.
The wooden boats and products, he said, were destroyed.
Similarly, he said, the Navy ship SOROH in Bayelsa intercepted a wooden boat laden with about 60,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO.
Subsequently, the boat and contents, he added was destroyed.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared May 2022 Federation Revenue Allocation to the federal, states and local government councils to the tune of N680.783billion.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of June 2022 FAAC meeting held in Abuja.
According to the communiqué, the N680.783billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N385.004billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N198.512billion and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N97.267billion.
In May, 2022, the total deductions for cost of collection were N36.996billion and total deductions for transfers and refunds were N186.672billion.
The balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was $35.377million.
The communiqué confirmed that from the total distributable revenue of N680.783billion; the Federal Government received N229.563billion, the state governments received N241.824billion and the local government councils received N175.942billion.
The sum of N33.454billion was shared to the relevant states as 13percent derivation revenue.
Gross statutory revenue of N589.952billion was received for the month of May, 2022.
This was lower than the N635.037billion received in the previous month by N45.085billion.
From the N385.004billion distributable statutory revenue, the Federal Government received N185.197billion, the state governments received N93.934billion and the local government councils received N72.419billion.
The sum of N33.454billion was shared to the relevant states as 13percent derivation revenue.
In the month of May, 2022, the gross revenue available from the Value Added Tax (VAT) was N213.179billion.
This was higher than the N178.825billion available in the month of April, 2022 by N34.354billion.
From the N198.512billion distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, the Federal Government received N29.777billion, the state governments received N99.256billion and the local government councils received N69.479billion.
The Federal Government received N14.590billion; the state governments received N48.634billion and the local government councils received N34.043billion from the N97.267billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL).
According to the communiqué, in the month of May, 2022, Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) recorded considerable increases, Import Duty increased marginally while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Excise Duties decreased marginally.
Oil and Gas Royalties decreased significantly.
The Federal Government has announced that the successful investors in Nigeria’s 57 marginal oil fields for the 2022 bid round would get their various Petroleum Prospecting Licences, tomorrow.
On May 31, 2021, the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) issued letters of award to investors for the production of crude oil from 57 marginal fields.
Last January, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) announced that a total of 128 awardees emerged as successful bidders in the bid round and had made complete and part payments for signature bonuses in the oil fields.
It also disclosed at the time that 33 awardees did not make payments during the 45 days window given to successful bidders to pay the required signature bonuses for the oil fields and as such had lost their awards to suitably qualified reserve bidders.
Providing updates on the bid round in Abuja, last Saturday, the Chief Executive, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, announced that the successful awardees would get their licences by Tuesday.
He said, “In fulfillment of the promise made early this year, the NUPRC will on Tuesday in Abuja, issue Petroleum Prospecting Licences to successful awardees of marginal fields in the 2020 bid round, pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
“It will also unveil the implementation template for the host communities’ development trust for commencement of the provisions under Section 235 of the PIA, 2021, to positively impact against restiveness in the host communities.”
Komolafe said implementing the development trust would guarantee seamless operations, boost investors’ confidence and provide enabling environment for sustainable improvement of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.
“These will mark the conclusion of some of the most urgent and critical tasks inherited by the commission when it was inaugurated in October, 2021, after the signing into law of the PIA 2021,” he stated.
The commission had in March this year informed all participants in the 2020 marginal field bid round programme that it had put all necessary machinery in place to progress the bid round exercise to conclusion in line with the PIA 2021.
In furtherance of that resolution, the commission constituted an in-house work team to distill and address the concerns of awardees with a view to close out issues affecting multiple awardees per asset and formation of Special Purpose Vehicles by awardees in line with the respective letters of award.
“Awardees were therefore enjoined to avail themselves of the resolution mechanism provided by the commission in the overriding national interest,” Komolafe stated.
He added, “The successful coordination and resolution of the issues culminated in the emergence of the successful awardees that would be handed over licences on Tuesday.”
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