Enforcing intellectual property rights in Nigerian courts

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5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There is no point in making comprehensive provisions for the protection of various intellectual property rights without also providing a corresponding comprehensive system for enforcing the same when the rights are or about to be infringed. Therefore, an accessible, sufficient and adequate system/procedure is paramount in any worthwhile intellectual property system. Right holders must be granted means to enforce their rights just as is obtainable in other forms of tangible and intangible properties. To this end, all intellectual property systems need an effective judicial system that is empowered to deal with both civil wrongs and criminal offences while being presided over by adequate number of judges with the requisite experience in intellectual property law. This paper therefore examines: the raison-d'être for protecting intellectual property rights; the various enforcement mechanisms via the courts; sanctions and remedies for infringement of intellectual property rights amongst other incidental matters. The paper concludes with a call for the review of the sanctions for infringing intellectual property rights.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)627-645
Number of pages19
JournalLaw and Development Review
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jun 2018

Keywords

  • civil remedies
  • criminal sanctions
  • enforcement
  • intellectual property rights
  • Nigerian courts

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