Everything IP Law

The Everything IP Law Podcast is a premier Intellectual Property & Technology law podcast in Nigeria. The EIP Podcast series focuses on promoting forward thinking conversations around the development of IP & Technology related laws in Nigeria. It also provides creatives and businesses with the best available options to leverage their intangible assets in a fast-paced technology-driven world.

Discussing Green-tech and Innovation with Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro of Mitimeth 04/26/2022

The Future of Art; Cryptoart, NFTs, DAOs, Metaverse and more 10/16/2021

Common Misconceptions about Intellectual Property that are ruining Start-ups or Small businesses in Nigeria 03/28/2020

Protecting Software Rights in Nigeria- Contractual & Intellectual Property protection 01/05/2020

Copyright Licensing: How the Nigerian Entertainment Industry can benefit from it Intellectual property law such as those regulating patents and industrial designs, Copyrights, Trademarks, etc; essentially all seek to promote innovation by preventing anyone from taking undue commercial benefits from someone else’s original intellectual work. Copyright registration awards certain exclusive rights to Artists, Authors, Creatives and even body corporates and government agencies over their works. However, a significant advantage of Copyright in comparison to other forms of Intellectual property is that prior registration is not mandatory before an owner’s right can be protected by law. From the traditional entertainment patterns of the early 90s to the more mainstream/integrated entertainment industry of today, the Nigerian entertainment industry has incessantly suffered copyright infringements/ piracy issues. Logically, these infringements and issues have made it difficult for Artists/Entertainers and other creatives to benefit fully from their work. Fortunately, in a world where public consumption of entertainment has moved from cassette players to online music/video streaming, the Nigerian entertainment sector has also evolved. The evolution experienced in the past decade can be attributed to the public awareness and monetization of Copyright. For example, in the Music industry, owners of Copyrighted Materials such as song writers, composers and publishers are entitled to “royalties” whenever their creative work is commercially utilized for public consumption. These “Royalties” are basically the amount paid to the copyright-holders when their creative works are monetized in any form. With several online streaming platforms such as Tidal and Spotify, Royalties are a very lucrative way for music entertainers to make money. In sum, as an artist or creative in this fast-paced globally connected and competitive world, protecting ones art/ creation by enjoying exclusive ownership rights over such creative works cannot be overemphasized. Now more than ever, it is time Nigerian artists, songwriters, authors and other creatives of their ilk prioritize the protection of their intellectual property as they would any other physical property. Have you listened to our podisodes? Would you like to join the conversation? Then, make sure you subscribe to our podcast on , and or visit our website at and follow us on and at everythingiplaw. /episode/index/show/everythingiplaw/id/15376367

Welcome to the EIP Law Podcast 10/04/2019

Intellectual Property Rights in a Fair and Competitive Market 07/10/2019

Intellectual Property Rights in a Fair and Competitive Market Primarily, Intellectual Property (“IP”) law promotes exclusive control rights of a person over his personal innovations, ideas or creative works. Intellectual property protects and promotes innovation by granting monopoly rights as incentive for innovation while a fair competitive market is such that encourages healthy competition among various suppliers of goods, services and technologies. It is a crucial step in promoting economic expansion by building investor’s confidence in the economy while simultaneously protecting the interests of the consumers. The major anti-competitive issues dominating the interface between Intellectual Property and Competition Law/policy is the potential abuse of monopoly pricing and abuse of exclusionary licensing restrictions, tie-in agreements, excessive exploitation of IP and other commercial practices that prevent, restrict or distort competition in the relevant market. It is important to note that IP rights are not in themselves anti-competitive. They can potentially become so only when utilized above the intended scope of exercise or if proven to substantially lessen competition in the relevant market. Thus, the lack of adequate and unambiguous legislation may cause problems for technology companies dealing with technology transfers and licensing agreements. An example of such is the popular Microsoft case (Microsoft v. Commission T-201/04): The Microsoft case became a landmark case on a modern interaction between intellectual property and competition law in the European Union. The case was instituted as a result of a complaint made by Sun Microsystems alleging that Microsoft refused to supply it with information necessary to inter-operate with Microsoft’s dominant PC operating system. It also alleged that Microsoft tied its Windows Media Player to its Windows 2000 version of its operating system thereby exploiting its dominant position and restricting competition. In summary, the European Commission (“EC”) held that Microsoft’s ‘refusal to license’ forestalled other tech-firms from developing new products in the markets in accordance with consumer demand. Microsoft’s refusal to license was considered a violation of EC competition law. The Commission found Microsoft liable and imposed a penalty of €497.2 million against Microsoft. Consequently, Microsoft began providing its consumers with the option of using any browser of preference with the windows operating system. Upon review of this case, it is safe to say that Intellectual property and Antitrust/Competition regulations are necessary elements of a progressive economy. As such, it is imperative to have regulations that cater to disputes which may arise from the interface between the protection of intellectual property rights and the competing modern economic demands for healthy competition within economies. Have you listened to our podisodes? Would you like to join the conversation? Then, make sure you subscribe to our podcast on , and or visit our website at and follow us on and at everythingiplaw. /episode/index/show/everythingiplaw/id/15376433

Everything IP Law

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