NOTAP Awards 393 Patents - DG

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has said that 393 patents have been granted since the organisation's founding in 2016.

This information was provided in an interview on Wednesday in Abuja by Dr. DanAzumi Ibrahim, Director General (D-G) of NOTAP.

He acknowledged that some of the patents granted covered developments in, among other things, engineering, military hardware, renewable energy, and election monitoring.

Ibrahim claimed that the agency had discovered the weak intellectual property culture in the Nigerian knowledge system while carrying out one of its duties, which is to promote the development of indigenous innovations.

He said that the observation prompted NOTAP to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment's Commercial Law and Patent and Design Registry departments.

“The synergy with the departments helped in creating intellectual property awareness and patent support services for Nigerian researchers in the country.

“Through this, NOTAP assisted in processing and filing their claims at no cost as the office pays the patenting fees.”

The D-G stated that the organisation was in charge of controlling the import of foreign technologies into the nation and promoting the growth of domestic innovations.

Ibrahim advised scientists all over the world to work on patentable research and development (R&D) findings that may draw funding and then be licenced for commercialization and other economic gains.

"For any nation to develop and maximise its potential, it must have a vibrant Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) ecosystem that encourages demand-driven research for economic sustenance."

“This would lead to the acquisition of more patents by deserving Nigerian inventors and innovators who, through their research undertakings, have developed patentable research results.

“The act of protecting these works of human intellect is referred to as Intellectual Property Rights (IPRS) and it is necessary to protect and commercialise such rights through patents.”

Ibrahim also urged Nigerian researchers to take advantage of the free patenting opportunity provided by NOTAP so they can profit financially from licencing their inventions.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines a patent as an exclusive right given by the government to an inventor for a technological creation.

Depending on the nation of origin, this right allows the inventor to prevent others from creating, using, or commercially exploiting the invention for a set amount of time—generally 20 years.

With the use of this exclusive privilege, the patent holder can recover development costs and realise a return on his or her investment in the creation of the patented technology.