By Blessing Bature
In a landmark event, Nigeria's government has initiated the final stages of establishing a National Intellectual Property Policy which aimed at safeguarding the country's creative innovations, cultural heritage, and artistic expressions.
Speaking at a Stakeholder's Engagement Forum, Minister of Art and Culture and the creative economy, Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa on Monday emphasized the importance of protecting ideas, citing the invention of life-saving medicines, groundbreaking industrial processes, and iconic literary works as key pillars of society.
She said the Stakeholder's Engagement is hosted to re-validate the Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy for Nigeria while highlighting Nigeria's rich cultural and traditional innovations, stressing the need for documentation and marketing to benefit the people.
According to her, the policy's objectives include: strengthening Legal Frameworks, enhancing intellectual property rights protection and enforcement, Institutional Development, establishing effective institutions for intellectual property management, promoting Innovation and encouraging creativity and innovation across sectors, commercialization, facilitating the exploitation of intellectual property assets and technology transfer and building capacity for intellectual property administration and protection.
Musawa noted that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to attracting investments, promoting ease of doing business, and supporting the cultural and creative sectors.
She informed, "this initiative has been supported by the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, and the International Finance Corporation, IFC, saying Nigeria's National Intellectual Property Policy is expected to drive competitiveness, creativity, and innovation, ultimately empowering creators and safeguarding the country's cultural heritage.
Speaking Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite said Nigerian government has taken a significant step towards protecting intellectual property (IP) rights, with the re-validation of the National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy, saying this move aims to boost the country's economic growth and development.
According to her, In 2022, a draft National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy was developed through collaborative efforts of key agencies, including the Nigeria Copyright Commission, Trademark Registry, and Patent and Design Registry.
She However hinted that the policy had not been forwarded to the government for consideration until now.
"To address this, two committees were constituted in May 2024: the Steering Committee and the Inter-Ministerial Review Committee. These committees reviewed the draft policy document, incorporating emerging issues in the IP domain.
"The government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's leadership, is committed to protecting Nigerians' IP rights. The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Investment acknowledges limitations in outdated laws, such as the Trademark Act and Patent and Design Act, and is reviewing them".
She called on stakeholders to participate in the re-validation process, providing valuable insights to shape the policy. With a robust IP policy, Nigeria can unlock its potential for innovation and economic growth.
Also, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate who was represented by the National Coordinator of Presidential initiative on healthcare value chain, PVAC, Dr Abdu Murhtar said Nigeria's healthcare sector is on the cusp of transformative change, thanks to a powerful collaboration between key stakeholders.
He explained that Presidential Initiative, known as PVAC, aims to unlock the healthcare value chain, with three critical goals set by the President which is to Increase Local Manufacturing by Boosting the share of locally manufactured health products, addressing the current reliance on imported vaccines and medical products, saying 99% of medical products used in Nigeria are imported.
He also noted that the effort of the government is to educe Medical Tourism by building quality infrastructure to reduce the $2 billion spent annually on outbound medical tourism in in turns help to create Jobs, foster employment opportunities along the healthcare value chain.
Pate stressed that effective implementation of these goals hinges on a robust intellectual property policy, which is currently being developed. This policy will provide clarity and transparency, enabling partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders.
"The Honorable Minister's efforts to establish this policy are game-changing, offering a foundation for growth and development in Nigeria's health sector".
He emphasized, "having a clear intellectual property policy in place will encourage local manufacturing and innovation, attract foreign investment and partnerships and support the growth of Nigeria's pharmaceutical industry
He pledged 100% support for the policy's implementation, adding that Nigeria is poised to make significant strides in healthcare. "The call to action is clear: all partners must work together to drive this transformation and create a brighter future for Nigeria's healthcare sector", he noted.
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