Challenges to IP rights enforcement in Nigeria

Sade Laniyan of Jackson Etti & Edu writing for World Trademark Report on an IP session entitled "Enforcement of IP Rights in a Globalized Economy" held on March 27 2008 during the Third Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association summarises that there are a number of challenges to IP rights enforcement in Nigeria such as:



* a lack of relevant case law;

* insufficient numbers of interpreters (where the infringers are non-English speakers);

* the limited effect of interlocutory orders;

* the lack of public awareness (about counterfeiting and IP rights);

* the fact that all operations at the registry are performed manually; and

* the lack of public confidence in the various mechanisms for the enforcement of IP rights.

Afro-IP hopes to do its part to help overcome some of the challenges by faciliting comment and access to information about IP enforcement in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.