NCC appoints 15 WIPO national essay winners copyright Ambassadors
By Kamarudeen Ogundele
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has appointed the 15 winners of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) maiden National Intellectual Property (IP) Essay Competition as copyright Ambassadors.
The Director-General of NCC, John Asein, announced the appointments when he received the winners in his office in Abuja.
The competition was organised as part of activities marking the 2020 World Intellectual Property Day.
Susan Omeh of the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria (UNN) emerged the overall winner of the competition with Chantelle Chiwetalu of the same faculty and Toheeb Balogun of the Faculty of Law, Lagos State University as first and second runners up.
Other winners are Rotimi Owolabi, a law student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Chibuzor Ndubisi, a mechanical engineering student of University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Habeebullah Asudemade, a law student of University of Ibadan; Blessing Nwankwo, a law student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Rafiat Shittu, a law student of University of Lagos and Abasi-Akara Edet, a law student of University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
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Others are Victor Fabarebo, a law student of the University of Ibadan; Ms. Oghosa Eghe-Abe, a law student of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti; Ngozi Umeodinka, a law student of Lagos State University, Ojo; Sina Akinmusire, a law student of Lagos State University, Ojo; Adeife Omolumo, a law student of the University of Lagos; and Amarachukwu Elekwa, a law student of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti.
Addressing the winners led on the study visit to NCC Headquarters by the Programme Officer of WNO, Mr. Oluwatobiloba Moody, Asein said the winners and finalists of the maiden competition represented the product of a new dawn in the relationship between WIPO and Nigeria.
According to him, it is a new beginning in the strategic dissemination of IP knowledge amongst students and young persons.
The director general said the commission was already collaborating with the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU), the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other stakeholders to develop a Model IP Policy for Nigerian universities.
According to him, the policy would guide institutions on legally safe and sustainable use of IP in Nigerian tertiary institutions and provide a template for other areas of pro-active intervention.
He said, “As Copyright Ambassadors and frontline stakeholders in your academic communities, your inputs will be required in the formulation and implementation of that Policy.
”“Together we can ensure that the intellectual property system in Nigeria provides the required support for the growth of our creative and innovation industries. Together we must make the IP system work in Nigeria and for Nigeria.”
Stating that government would continue to provide legislative and administrative frameworks, he pointed out that the ultimate responsibility for the sustainable use of any IP system lied with the critical stakeholders.
Asein said the theme of last year’s World IP Day celebrations and the topic of the essay, “Making Innovation Work for a Green Future in Nigeria,” indicated that creativity and innovation had become the universal currency in today’s technology driven and knowledge-based economy
He added, “It is our collective responsibility to make intellectual property work for a greener, safer and more prosperous Nigeria.
“You are the bright hope of a better Nigeria where the value of IP as an inexhaustible national resource is well appreciated and accorded due respect at every level of society.
“We see all around us a generation of vibrant, determined and committed young creators, innovators and entrepreneurs and it is my belief that with the appropriate support, they can use the intellectual property system to bring about rapid turn-around in the economic fortunes of our great nation”.
The Copyright Ambassadors are to assist the commission in the dissemination of copyright knowledge; initiate relevant programmes and activities to promote respect for copyright and other forms of IP; and serving as liaisons between their institutions and the commission on matters of copyright.
They are also to provide feedback for the commission on various aspects of intellectual property; assisting in policy formulation and implementation; and carrying out other assignments that the Commission may from time to time require.
In his remarks, Mr. Moody assured of the commitment of the WNO to the advancement of IP capacity in the country.
He indicated that the office was awarded the winners internship and scholarship opportunities within and outside the country.
