Thursday, February 11,2021 / 1:00PM / Bukola Akinyele-Yisau for WebTV / Header Image Credit: WebTV

Topromote Intellectual Property, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) incollaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recentlyhosted a webinar on "Towards Building a Stronger Innovation Ecosystem byEnhancing Intellectual Property".  The Webinar featured key participantsfrom countries in the OIC. 

RepresentingNigeria Dr. Adamu Tandama of the Ministry of Science and Technology, gave apresentation on "Developing Initiatives to Promotes/Strengthen the IP ServicesInfrastructure in Developing Countries."

Accordingto Tandama, the federal ministry of science and technology is the only ministryin Nigeria in charge of science and technology promotion in the country.It also interacts with other agencies on matters concerning Science andTechnology.

Speakingon IP Services and Infrastructure, he said under the current administration ofDr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the science and technology minister, some projects havebeen initiated including the following:

• Science, Technology, and InnovationRoadmap 2030 - This seeks to enhance and bring about the importance of IPin whatever we are doing.
• Presidential Executive Order5- This will give preference to Nigerian professionals in every contractwithin the country. 
• National Strategies for Competitivenessin Raw Materials and Product development

Speakingfurther on the achievement of the ministry, Dr. Adamu said it had aligned18 agencies who were working to implement its policies.

Hesaid the ministry was working towards achieving the following:

• Facilitate the Innovation andPrototype development through Presidential Standing Committee on InnovationInvention 
• Supporting the establishment of IPcentres in Tertiary Institutions
• Entering into Bilateral/MultilateralAgreements for Science and Technology Development  

Oneof the 18 agencies under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is theNational Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP). The office ischarged with regulating the transfer of foreign technology to Nigeria and alsothe promotion of locally generated Technologies and the development ofIntellectual Property. 

Hehighlighted the need to strengthen IP structures such as robust andvibrant activities, high patent turnover, technological competencies,sustainable home-grown solutions, and wealth creation.  

Also,in promoting or strengthening the IP services infrastructure, he said there wasa need for provisions of the state-of-the-art Laboratories for the conductof research, provision of modern ICT equipment, availability of higherbroadband versions, quick and less cumbersome access to finance, and robustNational IP Policy. 

Onthe side of the current Nigerian initiatives in IP infrastructure, he said theFederal government of Nigeria has many initiatives in place to promote IPInfrastructures: 

• Physical Infrastructures- Thephysical Infrastructure is for Tertiary, Military, specialized institutions,and Research Institutes. He said physical infrastructure brings IP creators andresearchers.
• Information Infrastructures-IPdatabase and digital information
• Technology Infrastructures- it isvital to look into technology infrastructure as ICT is playing a big role inall our activities. Galaxy Backbone, AI, IP centers network, and NOTAP forTechnology transfer.
• Legal Framework- Patent Registry,Trademark Registry, and copyright Commission for IP Protection
• Business Support Services- thegovernment has also established Executive Order number 5, NBTI, and NOTAP forIP promotion and also
• Finance Infrastructures-GIFMIS andIPSAS accounting system for transparency

Accordingto him, the Federal Ministry through the National Office for TechnologyAcquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has established 55 intellectual Property andTechnology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in:

• Federal Universities-25
• State Universities-10
• Private Universities-2
• Polytechnic- 4
• Research Institutes-10
• Military Institutions-3
• Teaching Hospitals-1  

Onthe impact of the initiative, Dr. Adamu concluded that the establishment of theIPTTOs has made Nigerian institutions obtain more patents through NOTAP overthe years: In 2015-6 Patents, 2016-16 Patents, 2017- 50 Patents, 2018-55Patents, and 2019-57 Patents.

Hesaid the challenges of strengthening Intellectual Property(IP) Structures inthe country include:

• Lack of continuity of governmentProjects
• Sustainability
• Absence of National IP Policy
• Economic Recession 
• Brain Drain Syndrome
• Limited private partners
• Unwilling Foreign Partners

Fromhis presentation, he said the initiatives to promote/ strengthen the IPservices depend on the interest of IP by the Government.  According tohim, the Nigerian government is interested in Intellectual Propertydevelopment. He added that most of the support of IP comes from the Governmentin form of: 

• Research Laboratories  
• Finances and
• ICT Infrastructures.  While theprivate sector is yet to key into the initiative. 

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