DATE: 25TH JULY, 2020
TIME: 8:00 PM
TOPIC: WHAT IS DOMESTIC IP LAW?
SPEAKER: MR. CHARLES EMEJUO
The seminar took place via the ZOOM App. The Speaker, Mr. Charles Emejuo introduced the topic to be discussed as What is domestic IP Law? Mr. Emejuo delved into the topic by stating that it was of utmost importance that the terminologies ‘domestic’ and ‘Intellectual Property’ be defined. He stated that intellectual property deals with creations of the mind that are protected by law. They cover a wide array of intangible property such as copyright, patents, trademarks and integrated circuits to mention a few.
On the matter of the term ‘domestic’ Mr. Emejuo, suggested that the effect of a state’s domestic IP Law affected and were strictly applicable to the territorial boundary of the state in question. The Speaker’s presentation focused primarily on three countries in Africa. These were Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon.
Mr. Emejuo brought to our attention that Nigeria’s IP law regime is in it’s infantile stages of development. There is however growing interest with regard to the law relating to this area. Nigeria’s domestic IP law which borders on Copyright protection is the Copyright Act Cap. C. 28 Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.
He also stated that Ghana had quite a number of statutes that regulated the various subject matter of Intellectual Property. The main intellectual property laws in Ghana were stated by Mr. Emejuo, to include the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690), The Patents Act, 2003 (Act 657), the Trademarks Act, 2004 (Act 664), the Industrial Designs Act, 2003 (Act 660) and the Protection Against Unfair Competition Act, 2000 (Act 589) these are supported by some regulations.
For Cameroon’s Domestic IP Laws, Mr, Emejuo stated that per his research, their domestic IP Law seemed to be the same as the international law. The meeting was concluded at 8: 45pm.
Rapporteur,
Emmanuel Bugyei
