Intellectual Property Law Introductory Perspectives

INTRODUCTION

Intellectual Property (IP) is a genre of Property, albeit an intangible or non-tangible property. Thus like any other property, IP products may be transmitted assignment, testamentary disposition, or by operation of Law. This position was upheld by the Court in Digital Communication Network (Nig) Ltd v. Ncc when the court held copyright, an IP Right to be so transmissible:

…Copyright is transmissible by assignment, testamentary disposition or by operation of law, as movable property under Section 11(1) and (2) of the Act(supra). Subsections 11(3) and (a) of the Act provides as follows: "(3) No assignment of copyright and no exclusive licence to do an act, the doing of which is controlled by copyright, shall have effect unless it is in writing. (4) Anon-exclusive licence to do an act, the doing of which is controlled by copyright, may be written or oral, or may be inferred from conduct.

The Law relating to Intellectual property is thus the legal regime that protects the products of one's intellect, mind, thoughts or reasoning. As is to be expected, the robust legal regime related to the protection of Intellectual Property as well as Intellectual Property Rights is a result of years and years of steady development of knowledge in that regard. The earliest action taken by a state to protect Intellectual Property is said to have occurred in 500 BCE when the Greek city state, Sybaris, granted her citizens the right to obtain a one-year patent for creating new luxurious items. In Medieval Europe, as trade became the driving force of the economy, trade associations of merchants and artisans arose, these associations grew to obtain power from the city-states to promote the conduct of commerce. Thus, the power to evolve new innovations in the making of goods and services became significantly the duty of the guilds.

The year 1623, saw the first pivotal move towards modern Intellectual Property Law when the English Parliament passed the ‘Stature of Monopolies’ which granted the “true and first inventor” 14 years’ window period of exclusive control over any invention he had made. The Parliament followed this with the Stature of Anne, under which inventors were granted the possibility of a 14-year renewal of the right of exclusive control over their invention, provided they satisfied the stipulated conditions.

Intellectual Property Law grew exponentially in the 1800s as it gained wider protections in Europe. This is seen clearly in the legislations that ensued from Europe, some of these include:

• The Paris Convention of 1883 which granted inventors the right to protect their invention in whatever country they were being used.
• The Berne Convention of 1886, which granted writers protection as regards all forms of written content, as well as musical compositions, drawings, artwork and so on internationally.
• The Madrid Agreement of 1891, which provided for a wider protection for trademarks.
• The United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property of 1893,which was the combination of the Paris and Berne Conventions.

In Nigeria, the history of the development of intellectual Property Law can be discussed under three distinct epochs. The first is the pre-colonial era, in which era, intellectual acumen of the people found expression through various cultural and traditional practices such as folk songs, sculptures, pottery, paintings, designs, marks, textiles, scarification, traditional medical and herbal methods and so on. Whether these IP products(IPP) were so recognised and protected remains debatable. Although it is argued in favour of this notion that owing to the recognition granted some forebears in traditional oral renditions like in music, it is reflective of some sort of protection. The second is the colonial era which saw the reception of the English Common Law which was for all intents and purposes a formal legal order. This period is agreed to be the period in which a formal intellectual property legal regime was introduced in Nigeria. The third and final epoch is the post-colonial era, which period has been characterised by the steady growth of IPL in Nigeria, with the nation not only setting up a commission to oversee IP practice in Nigeria but also continually reviewing various Laws in the IP bundle to conform with international practices.

As has been shown, IPL development has spanned an appreciably long period of time but the relevance of IPL has never waned through the years. Rather, the importance thereof is becoming more and more pronounced as the economy of nations has shifted from product based to knowledge based economies.6 Though IPL keeps growing and therefore changing to suit the growing needs of the time through the ages, the core of the IPL has radically remained the same to wit – the protection of the rights of inventors, artists, and merchants with a view to encouraging the exchange of ideas and reward for people’s creativity or intellectual ingenuity.