New Legal Journal Debuts in Nigeria

The University of Lagos, Unilag for short, has recently launched a new law journal.  Vol. 1 No.1 of the UNILAG Law Review was issued in June 2017.  The new publication includes an online forum---an accompanying blog---which began in March of this year.  It's a student-edited journal with contributions from students and established scholars.  As the journal states,

...entries are accepted from Lawyers, Judges, Lecturers and Professors of Law, and Law Students alike. ... Entries are also accepted from authors outside Nigeria, may be from any area of the law...

The print version is available for subscription delivery around the world with prices outlined for different regions based on shipping costs.  [These costs appear quite considerable as a single issue in Nigeria is US$9 but a single issue delivered to the United States is US$114!]  There is also a special price for institutions that includes 6 copies of each issue at a slight discount.  The N30,000 price for six copies of a complete volume actually seems pretty reasonable for Nigerian university libraries interested in stocking this resource for their students.

For those with decent internet access, the journal is also published online.  The full journal for Vol. 1 No. 1 is available online directly from the UNILAG Law Review website as a downloadable pdf.

The inaugural issue does not have any articles directly on intellectual property topics.  However, it does have the following topics that tangentially touch on IP-related issues:

• An Overview of Legal and Regulatory Framework for Renewable Energy Projects in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects by Oluwaseun Viyon Ojo.  -- This area of innovation is a prime spot for patents, and indeed, with all its talk of R&D and foreign-direct-investment, this article dances neatly around patents throughout
• An Overview of Mergers and Acquisitions under Nigerian Law by Omotayo Akinrinwa -- IP being an important type of asset that may be overlooked in such processes
• Exploring Alternative Means of Energy in Nigeria: Lessons from Canada by Adewale Ajayi -- Definitely potential for some foreign IP-licensing here

And from the Online Forum:

• An Examination of the Legal Framework for the Promotion of Tobacco and Other Related Products by Gboremi Ogundipe -- Limitations on advertising can bring up trademark issues, especially if those limitations start down the slope towards brown-packaging laws
• Arbitration Proceedings under Nigerian Law: Arbitrable Disputes and the Approach to Arbitration Clauses by Shittu Rilwan & Oladapo Busayo -- As we know, licenses and terms of service governing on-line use of copyrighted material may contain arbitration clauses; helpful to know how they'll be handled in Nigeria
• The End of the Commodities Boom and the Challenges it Poses for Africa: Need for New Thinking by Josephe Onele -- One of the suggestions made by Mr. Onele is focusing on knowledge-based industries, which of course are powered by IP

Hopefully, we will see some IP-focused topics handled in the journal's pages as it continues to grow, especially if Afro-IP readers inclined to take up the pen make some submissions.  In the meantime, it is wonderful to see a new forum for African legal scholars, especially one that was the initiative of and is being run by African law students.  Kudos to the UniLag Law Students Society.