The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has said a total of 75 patent certificates comprising 70 and five, have been commercialised in the Nigerian markets in the international markets respectively.
The NOTAP Director General, Barrister Obiageli Amadiobi, said this at a press conference to commemorate the African Day for Technology and Intellectual Properties, in Abuja on Thursday, with the theme, “Leveraging Technology and IPRs to drive the Renewed Hope Agenda”.
This, she said, is part of efforts at strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and the development also means the commercialised patents are now available to the general public.
She said that while her office had processed over 1,000 patent applications received and submitted to the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry; the organisation has also granted assistance to researchers at no cost in the acquisition of over 300 patent certificates from the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry.
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“Seventy of these patent certificates have been commercialised in the Nigerian markets and five in the international markets. I wish to reiterate that NOTAP as an agency has the added responsibility of promoting inventions and innovations of Nigerian researchers and has not failed in pursuing the mandate especially in sensitising the research community and the general public on the vital role of IPR in Nigeria’s technological development.
“This, we have done through the establishment of over 65 Intellectual Property and Technology Transfers Offices (IPTTOs) across the length and breadth of Nigeria,” Amadiobi said.
She also said that inventors of creative intellectual property can only hold exclusive rights to their works for 20 years, after which the invention will be transferred to the public domain and can be used by any individual.
She said the commemoration of the African Day for Technology and Intellectual Properties complies with the resolution made by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union Council of Ministers and Assembly of Heads of State and Governments at Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia in July 1999.
The NOTAP DG said technology and IPRs systems are an important factor in nation-building and wealth creation, and that intellectual rights awaken the creative ability of inventors to develop solutions to the many challenges confronting the continent to eradicate poverty and drive sustainable development.
“To properly understand the concept, intellectual property is the creative works of the mind, literary and artistic works belonging to a creator and can only be transferred or sold with the permission of the innovator. It can also be any innovation, commercial, artistic, symbol, logo or design used for commercial purposes.
“However, this right that can also be transferred is not without limitations as the creator or the owner of the right can only enjoy it solely for the period of 20 years in the case of patents, after which the invention goes into the public domain and could be exploited by any person or user,” she said.
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