The Jupiter Hall of Four Points by
Sheraton in Victoria Island, Lagos was bursting at its seams this Monday,
October 30, 2017 as Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama on
Day 2 of the much talked about COSON Week, engaged the nation’s intelligentsia,
experts on intellectual property and drivers of the Nigerian creative industry
at the 2017 COSON Lecture. Present were several eminent Intellectual Property
lawyers, teachers and students of law and serious practitioners in the Nigerian
creative industry. Among those present were the Lagos State Commissioner for
Information & Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde; immediate past president of the
Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria, Prof. Bankole Sodipo; immediate
past Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Prof. Adebambo Adewopo
SAN; Dean Faculty of Law, University of Lagos; Ms. Iyabode Oshodi, representing the
Attorney-General of Lagos State; human rights activist and Commissioner in
NDDC, Mr. Ogaga Ifowodo; eminent IP lawyer, Mr. Rockson Igelige, etc
Mr. Onyeama, who before being
appointed Minister was Deputy Director-General of the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), the Geneva based agency of the United Nations,
spoke on “Intellectual Property Rights in the New Global Knowledge Economy” a
subject with which he is clearly at home. He poured encomium on the COSON
Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji for his forcefulness and consistency in promoting
the intellectual property cause in Nigeria and across the continent.
The minister did a thorough
examination of the intellectual property landscape across the world, the trade
related aspects of intellectual property (TRIPS) and the role of IP in the
World Trade Organization (WTO). He was clear that without a firm appreciation
of the role of intellectual property in economic development, the Nigerian
economy will not reach its optimum.
Mr. Basil Udotai, thoroughbred lawyer,
intellectual property expert, technology wiz and Managing Partner, Technology
Advisors undertook a forensic and systematic breakdown of the relationship
between respect for intellectual property and economic advancement of several
nations.
Chairman of the Lecture, the nation’s
undisputed father of Intellectual Property, Emeritus Professor, Egerton E.
Uvieghara, the first ever Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian
Copyright Commission and teacher of many lawyers across Nigeria called for a
full fledged Ministry of Intellectual Property because of the key role that
Intellectual Property must play in the development of the country. Both Mr.
Onyeama and Mr. Udotai received standing ovations for their deep presentations.
A panel of experts consisting of Mr.
Obi Asika, COSON Board Member & Co-Founder, Cabal Entertainment; Mr. Mena
Ajakpovi: Lawyer, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law; Mr.
Obi Ezeilo, Zonal Manager, Nigerian Copyright Commission and Mr. Emeka Mba, former
DG, National Film & Video Censors Board and former DG, National
Broadcasting Commission thereafter debated the issues as they relate to the
Nigerian situation. Led by Mr. Udota, they sought to chart a way forward for
Nigeria.
Chairman, Copyright Society of
Nigeria (COSON) Chief Tony Okoroji who is one of the continent’s most renowned
voices and thinkers on Intellectual Property Rights, moderated the lecture.
Okoroji, the former president of PMAN and author of the celebrated book, ‘Copyright
& the New Millionaires’ said that never before had a group of such
brilliant minds been assembled to dissect an issue which the country urgently
needs to understand, so as to ensure real growth in the nation’s economy.
The COSON Lecture followed the
spectacular ‘COSON in the Church’ which took place at Trinity House, Victoria
Island on Sunday, October 29, 2017.
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