Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Nigeria

What is Intellectual Property Right?

Intellectual property rights are the rights given to people over creative and original works. It gives the creator exclusive right over his creation for a period, as well as the right to claim damages when his/her right is infringed. Intellectual property rights include copyrights, trademark & service marks, patents, and design protection. The type of intellectual property right depends on the type of invention and protection the creator desires. Industrial designs, written works, inventions, and other creative and original pieces can be protected against misuse and plagiarism in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, intellectual property rights are enforced with the use of various judicial and administrative means. Intellectual property rights are protected under Nigerian law and constitution. Intellectual property in Nigeria is of four main forms in Nigeria- Trademarks, Patents, Industrial Designs, and Copyright. These forms of Intellectual property rights give the holders the right to make use of their works only the way they want to, it curbs plagiarism and piracy and allows the holders to take legal actions when their rights are infringed upon

Trademark

Trademark is a type of intellectual property right that has a recognizable sign or expression which distinguishes the product or service and identifies it from a specific source. The marks used to identify services are called service marks. Trademarks are protected under the Nigerian Law and infringers can be punished. A person is said to have infringed on a trademarked right when he uses a mark identical with a registered trademark which could cause confusion or mislead people.

Patent & Industrial Design

A patent is a form of intellectual property right that gives the holder the legal right to exclude others from using, making for selling his/her invention for a period of time. In exchange, the holder would have to disclose the invention to the general public. Where a patented product or industrial design is used, sold, or replicated by another person during the set time, it would be seen as infringement, which is punishable under the law.

Copyright

Copyright is also a form of intellectual property right. It gives the owner/holder the exclusive right to make copies of a creative piece for a given period. A copyright creative piece can be in a literary, educational, artistic, or musical form. According to the copyright laws in Nigeria, a person can be said to be a copyright infringer when he/she plagiarizes or makes a copy of the copyrighted piece without the permission of the owner.

Laws on Intellectual Property Rights in Nigeria

In Nigeria, certain laws govern and regulate intellectual property rights. These laws are in different Acts, they include:

• The Trade Marks Act
• The Patents and Designs Act
• The Merchandise Marks Act
• The Copyright Act
• The Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules
• The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, E.T.C.) Act of 2015

The Role of the Court in the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights

As earlier stated, all intellectual property rights are protected under Nigerian Law. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) also makes provision for the court jurisdiction to hear intellectual property law cases. Section 251 (1) (f) of the Constitution provides that; “. . . the Federal High Court shall have and exercise exclusive jurisdiction to the exclusion of any other court in civil causes and matter:” “Any Federal enactment relating to copyright, patent, designs, trademarks and passing-off, industrial designs and merchandise marks, business names, commercial and industrial monopolies, combines and trusts, standards of goods and commodities and industrial standards”.

The Federal High Court in Nigeria is given the exclusive jurisdiction to hear all cases of intellectual property rights. The court is to determine causes and matters, whether civil or criminal and make a judgment of intellectual property rights issues in Nigeria. The Court of Appeal may also exercise jurisdictions on intellectual property rights issues when it emanates from the Federal High Court, and the Supreme Court may ultimately be given jurisdiction.

Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights in Nigeria

For the different forms of intellectual property rights in Nigeria, the Law provides that infringers are punished. Depending on the type of intellectual property right, all found guilty of infringement will be punished by the Acts guiding them.

Infringement of Copyright

The Copyright Act gives provision for copyright infringers to be given both civil and criminal punishment. Section 21 of the Act states that “Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, it shall be permissible for both criminal and civil actions to be taken simultaneously in respect of the same infringement under this Act”.

Copyright Infringement occurs when a person adopts a copyrighted work without the permission of the author. The legal punishment for Copyright infringement includes:

• Infringer pays the actual dollar amount of damages and profits- A range of $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed.
• Infringer pays for all attorney and court costs
• The illegal work is impounded by the court, as the court issues an injunction to stop all infringing acts.
• Jail penalty for infringers.

Infringement of Trademark

In the case of trademark, the Trade Marks Act provides civil remedies upon infringement. The penalty for Trademark infringement is a fee or imprisonment (not exceeding seven years). Although the Trade Marks Act does not impose criminal sanctions, the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, E.T.C.) Act 2015 imposes criminal action for unauthorized use of trademark online. Section 25 of the Act states; “A person who, intentionally takes or makes use of a name, business name, trademark, domain name or other word or phrase registered, owned or in use by any individual, body corporate or belonging to either the Federal, State or Local Government in Nigeria, on the internet or any other computer network, without authority or right, and for the purpose of interfering with their use by the owner, registrant or legitimate prior user, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than =N5,000,000.00 or both”.

Infringement of Patents & Designs

Patents and Industrial design rights can only be said to be infringed upon when the registered work is used for commercial or industrial purposes without the authorization of the holder. The design owner or patentee can then sue for infringement and is entitled to claims for damages, injunction, accounts, or profits, as ordered by the court.

Conclusion

Intellectual Property Rights are rights granted by law on creative/ innovative products or services. It protects such works from piracy and misuse and gives the holder of such rights the ability to claim damages when his/her rights are infringed upon. Primarily, intellectual property rights encourage more innovative works and protect the exploitation of people’s works. Intellectual property rights such as trademarks, patents, and industrial design and copyrights are protected in Nigeria by Law.

Intellectual property rights are regulated by the Trade Marks Act, the Patents and Designs Act, the Merchandise Marks Act, the Copyright Act, the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, and the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, E.T.C.) Act of 2015, depending on the type of intellectual property right. Protecting your invention through intellectual property rights is essential to avoid misuse or plagiarism of your work.

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