Barr. Rockson Igelige, a prominent Intellectual Property Rights Lawyer and Cofounder, Friends of the Creator Artistic Foundation, has called on the Federal Government to enforce laws that would address Intellectual Property infringement in the country.
Igelige made the call in an interview on Wednesday, during the Intellectual Property Law Symposium and Awards held at the Faculty of Law, University of Abuja in Gwagwalada.
He explained that internet fraudsters are among the major violators of intellectual property laws, saying that their creativity can be converted to positive use for the development of the economy and the country.
According to him, their was need to set up specialised Intellectual property Courts to be handled by lawyers and Judges specially trained on IP maters to help in addressing Intellectual Property infringement in the country.
“Intellectual property is all about what ever you create from your mind or your brain should come to your benefit and the scriptures says we should eat from what we work for.
“The world is now knowledge based where people with ideas rule the world because when you create something it should be enjoyed to encourage others to do the same.
“We don’t have enough Judicial Presidents on IP matters, we need a specialised IP court just as we have election tribunals so that we can move forward.
“The Federal Government need to tighten IP laws particularly enforcement because we already have the laws on ground but they are not equipped with modern equipments to tackle them,” he said.
However, he called on youths in the country to be innovative and embrace intellectual property, shun all forms of vices to become self reliant for national development of the country.
Igelige was also given an award as the Entertainment Lawyer of the year 2019 by the Law students as a result of the strides he has made in the field of IP Law especially as it relates to entertainment. (NAN)
