LawyersWant NCC To Protect Property Rights

Some lawyers in Lagos last Thursday said that the Nigerian Copyright Commission had not done enough to protect the rights of owners of intellectual properties in the country.

The lawyers spoke to the newsmen on the occasion of the Intellectual Property Day.

Intellectual Property is celebrated on April 26 yearly to encourage creativity.

In separate interviews with The Tide source, the lawyers called on the commission to put in place a mechanism for the proper enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR).

A member of the Africa in Democracy and Good Governance, Mr Edwin Nebeolisa, said that lip service was continuously paid to IPR protection.

He said that people’s work were replicated without caution by various persons or set of individuals, and that rights infringement was not being addressed.

Nebeolisa said that in developed countries, the reverse was the case as most of the works were computerised or Internet- based and were not available for plagiarism.

He added that if Nigeria had attained a higher level of technology, cases of copyright infringement would be reduced.

A Lagos-based lawyer and author, Mr Joseph Agbo, said that Nigeria, like several other developing nations, was facing new challenges associated with globalisation.

He said that the major concern should be in the area of strengthening IPR laws in the country.

Agbo added that there should be the establishment of an appropriate legal and institutional framework, which would create awareness on the importance of IPR.

‘’When intellectual property rights are protected, rights are conferred on their owners to enable them to derive maximum benefits from the products of their labour,’’ he said.

He said that a major aspect of intellectual property, which was constantly abused, was the copyright which deals with literary, musical and artistic creations such as books, music, arts, films and broadcasts.

He said if a check was not placed on the infringement of IPR, there would be a major drawback in creativity and invention.

Another lawyer, Mr Spurgeon Ataene, said that laws should be reviewed to reflect new modalities, sanctions as well as protection of IPR.

He said that in Nigeria, IPR was governed by the Trademarks Act, the Patents and Designs Act, 1990 and the Copyright Law of 1990.

Ataene said that the issue of enforcement of IPR was a challenge to developing countries and that Nigeria must evolve strategies to deal with piracy, counterfeiting and faking of products.

He said that if the laws were to be reviewed, adequate attention must be given to the rights of individuals, as well as sanctions for those guilty of piracy.