IT Stakeholders Seek Stricter Laws for IP Protection

 Stakeholders in the IT industry have unanimously called for the review of legal documents in Nigeria to protect owners’ intellectual property (IP) as well as rebuild confidence of critical thinkers and innovators.

Adeolu Majekodunmi, small & medium solutions & partner director, Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, said that due to the ineffectual legal document , IT pirates are throwing heavy spanners on the wheels of Nigeria’s growth.

Majekodunmi  who spoke during the 2013 Intellectual Property Panel Discussion organised by Microsoft Nigeria, warned that if piracy is not contained;  dangers loom ahead.

He said that  IT pirates are bent on draining the economy adding that feedback from the entertainment, software, government, media and other core investments, showed  that several billions of naira originating from IP related sectors are entering into the wrong pockets.

He added that the draft national ICT policy paraded by the Ministry of Communication needs to be accompanied by laws that could allow regulators teeth to bite and for the betterment of the revolutionary IT industry in Nigeria.

Majekodunmi while defining IP as a creation of the mind, to which exclusive right is given, added that, “IP right can be put in the respect of copyright, patent right, trademarks, logo, et cetera.

“Nigeria is yet to revolutionalise its IT space, because we still use ‘borrowed’ technologies. Meanwhile, the country has the power to change the story. Bu the biggest issue is threats to IP rights or the activities of IT pirates. Nigeria needs a game-changer to turn the table were IP pays.

“With the new ICT policy in place, the country can leverage on it to revolutionalise the industry. Now there are incubation centres coming up in various locations, we need better platforms to make such that whatever is coming from those centres are monetized and protected”.

He said that the legal framework has to support the robust ICT policy for meaningful impact on the economy.

Also speaking, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, managing director, CMC Concept, said that development in any nation anchors on creativity and innovation imbedded in the intellectual property of individuals and must be protected.

“The intellectual property regime of any nation must impact on its development. So, low level IP regime (protection) leads to stagnant growth. For instance, producers of music and movies are losing at N150 per copy because pirates are at work. It is a major drain on our economy and Nigeria must rise to the occasion to stop the damages.

“I believe that the President should be addressing the media on International Intellectual Property Days, because we need to see the negative impact as harmful as the oil pipeline vandalism and Boko Haram insurgencies,” he said.

Badejo-Okusanya, added that the IP related cases should be made front-burner issues as it is not fight for Microsoft or software companies alone but every user of IT other sundry solutions.

On his part, Zanri Dabiri, CEO, Trybe Records, a music producer, further lamented that inefficient laws that address the menace currently lead to unsustainable business models, threat to governance and lack of private sector confidence on the nation’s entertainment industry.

According to him, Nigeria will remain a consumer of foreign technologies even with its consummate individuals if IP offenses are not addressed.

He said: “Royalties are not paying. This is impacting on, virtually, everything we do as an industry. We need to tackle this, because the entertainment industry is one of the largest employers of labour in the country and we cannot imagine what will become of the country if the industry fails”.

The stakeholders while applauding Microsoft Nigeria for brazing the trail in Intellectual property protection awareness, also pointed out that vigorous advocacy and education of consumers and unleashing of the genuine products in the market would reduce the ‘dreaded disease’ that has penetrated the market overtime, adding the current transformation in the Nigeria Copyright Commission is a good omen for the industry.