The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has emphasised the need to strengthen collaborations among stakeholders for enhanced Intellectual Property (IP) development in Nigeria.
The Director-General of NOTAP, Dr Obiageli Amadiobi in company of NOTAP management team, made the call during a visit to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on Tuesday in Abuja.
Dr Amadiobi said she realised the need to strengthen collaborations after visiting some of the Intellectual Property Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) established by NOTAP in some Universities in Nigeria.
According to her, there is also need for capacity building and more awareness on intellectual property to encourage demand-driven research and the protection of the IP of Nigerian researchers, inventors and innovators.
“WIPO had a cordial working relationship with NOTAP which culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2006 and there is an urgent need to reinvigorate the collaboration.”
She also emphasised the need to reassess and retrain the coordinators of the IPTTOs in order to improve their capacity to manage the centres for optimal results in intellectual property management.
The NOTAP DG, therefore, appealed to WIPO to consider training of the coordinators and NOTAP officials in the WIPO Academy in order to strengthen their capacity on intellectual property matters.
“There is a need to strengthen capacities for our researchers to handle various aspects of intellectual property development,” Amadiobi said.
In his response, the country director of WIPO Nigeria, Dr Oluwatobiloba Moody said NOTAP remained an important partner to WIPO given its mandate to promote innovation.
According to him, WIPO has the Technology Innovation and Support Centres (TISC) in Nigeria which run on the WIPO database but the structure and wider reach of the NOTAP IPTTO will complement the work of the centres.
He said the organisation was ready to assist in the efforts to boost capacity through its programmes on developing IP, including the IP Labs for start-ups.
He also said that the organisation was not new to partnerships and that NOTAP and WIPO should collaborate on some of the programmes to entrench IP in Nigeria.
“We have The IP Skill Acquisition Learning and Youth Entrepreneurship (IP SALAYE) which WIPO rolled out last year in collaboration with National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
“There is also the IP for Green Innovators in which the organisation is partnering with the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre Lagos to launch.”
Dr Moody also said that the organisation was considering co-designing projects and programmes with critical partners, including NOTAP, to identify and train citizens on how IP works.
According to him, WIPO can design and implement a course for the training of NOTAP officials and specific training for the IPTTO Coordinators.
“WIPO can also offer NOTAP training on technology transfer in its academy and looks forward to receiving an outline of specific courses from the latter for the organisation to design a training plan,” he said. (NAN)
