By Gami Tadanyigbe
The United Nations Ambassador and Trademarks Registrar and IP First Group have called for increased awareness of intellectual properties for sports professionals in order to develop and promote intellectual property matters in Nigeria.
A statement by the director of media and publicity, Mr Jameel Ibrahim issued in Abuja on Tuesday said the registration of trademarks drives merchandising aspect of sports.
He added that it also enables clubs and sports professionals to leverage their unique identifiers for that purpose.
According to him, April 26th every year was set aside by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to celebrate intellectual property and IP First Group, an NGO has focused on the development and promotion of intellectual property matters in Nigeria.
He noted that, this years WIPO celebration was organized in collaboration with the Nigerian Bar Association/Section on Business Law and IDEA Police which provided an avenue for stakeholders in the Nigerian intellectual property space, to reflect on the theme: ‘IP and Sports’ for 2019.
The statement revealed that, Mr. Shafiu Yauri, the Registrar of Trademarks emphasised on the critical importance of Intellectual Property (IP) as one of the key drivers of the sports industry.
“IP First Group a multi-stakeholder NGO, attracted people from across the spectrum of the IP space these included, a former permanent secretary and the Chairman of IP First Group, A. Kigo; the Registrar Trademarks, Shafiu Yauri;.
“The Vice- Chairman Nigeria Bar Association Section on Business law, Afam Nwokedi; the DG of the Nigeria Copyright Commission, John Asien; the DG of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion.
“Ibrahim Dan-Azumi, the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Azuka Azinge; and Mr. Osita Anaedu, Ambassador at the United Nations and former Technical Adviser Strategy at the office of the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
He noted that the colossal investments in the technologies that drive sports broadcast and the sporting equipment, which enhance the performance of sports professionals were made possible by the protection secured through proper registration of Intellectual Property (IP).
He drew attention to the three main pillars of intellectual property which sports professionals in Nigeria can take advantage of to earn revenue from merchandising Trademarks.
Mr. Abdul Terkohol, on behalf of the DG of NOTAP, decried the lack of awareness of intellectual property in Nigeria noting that not up to 20% of lecturers in Nigerian Universities know about intellectual property.
He cited an example of an individual who worked in a research institute all his life creating intellectual property, but it was only when he retired in 2010 that he came to understand what intellectual property was all about.
“Our sports professionals are living in penury, because they have failed to take advantage of intellectual property to improve their earnings,” he lamented.
He noted that Christian Chukwu one of Nigeria’s most outstanding players in the Green Eagles before it was renamed Super Eagles, is one example of an exceptional sportsman who is today living in penury.
