ABSTRACT

This book reflects on the development of Nigeria’s intellectual property law and outlines the urgent need for reform.

Bringing together expert contributors from around the world, the book identifies and discusses the inadequacies and lacunas in current intellectual property law, and how it is practiced and applied in Nigeria. The book argues that the revision and reform of Nigeria’s intellectual property law will be vital for the country’s development and national interests, whilst also recognising that Nigeria’s legal provisions must sit within a broader global context. Divided into three parts, the book discusses patents, trademarks, and copyright in the context of broad overarching themes affecting all aspects of intellectual property law.

Honouring Professor Adebambo Adewopo SAN, the pioneering thinker in Nigerian intellectual property law, this book will be an important resource for researchers working on African Law.

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

Nigerian IP Experience: Past and Present

part I|80 pages

Patents

chapter 1|15 pages

Patent licensing contracts under Nigerian and US law

The operation of exhaustion doctrine in Nigeria

chapter 2|22 pages

The patent system and access to essential medicine (HIV and cancer) in Nigeria

Overcoming the challenges of unsustainable donor funding and impaired access

chapter 4|15 pages

Law reform and employee-invention patents in Nigeria

A cue from the United Kingdom

chapter 5|17 pages

Traditional knowledge on the medicinal uses of plants (TKMUP) in Nigeria

Whither the patent system in COVID-19 pandemic

part II|46 pages

Trademarks

chapter 6|13 pages

Two strings on a bow

Scope of registrable trademarks from the era of traditional knowledge to digital technology in Nigeria (pre and post 1965)

chapter 7|13 pages

Registration of domain name as trademarks in Nigeria

Panacea to cybersquatting

part III|117 pages

Copyright

chapter 9|19 pages

The quagmire of open access

Availability, accessibility, and impact

chapter 10|13 pages

Evolution of digital performance

Leveraging rights in performances

chapter 14|13 pages

Inequality of bargaining power between artists and recording companies

A critical review of the case of African Songs Ltd. V. Sunny Ade

chapter 15|13 pages

Seeking protection for use of images in commercial practices in Nigeria

A pathway to intellectual property reform and development