The basic concept of Intellectual Property

ABSTRACT

The research has analyzed literature comprising books, periodicals, court cases, enabling laws and institutions relating to intellectual property rights, their origin, purpose and enforceability. Domestic laws have, herein been scrutinized to evaluate their efficacy and potential pitfalls. It further examined the international scenario and its impact on the Nigerian citizens. The purpose of intellectual property rights is to promote creativity, innovation and to expedite technology transfer by rewarding the inventor for his travails else no one would invest time and huge sums for research and development. Generation of protection encourages technology transfers by ensuring equitable sharing of commercial benefits. Scientists are assured that their works can be disseminated without fear of counterfeiting. Intellectual property law spells out obligations of all stakeholders in intellectual property generation and commercial utilization and enhances the quality of human life. Essentially, intellectual property rights seek to ensure that no-one unlawfully annexes the fruits of his labour to another person’s labour. Awareness of this area of the law will obviously contribute to reduce considerably not only the ever-rising trend of piracy, particularly in the book, music and film industries but also reduce the piracy of trademarks and trade names malpractices. The functions of the Nigerian institutional framework, such as, the Nigerian Copyright Commission, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Customs and Excise and the Federal High Court are critical in the enforcement of the intellectual property legal frameworks. International bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), for example, Trade Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) under World Trade Organization (WTO) provide guidance in respect of enforcement mechanisms for intellectual property. The coordination and cooperation of our national agencies account for how successful our legal framework is.