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.”
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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