Osinbajo advocates for intellectual property rights at COSON Lecture

Afam Ezekude decorating a rep of Justice Bola Ajibola at the lecture

By CHIKA CHIMEZIE
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said that intellectual property rights in the digital economy, the theme of the 2015 COSON Lecture, is a contemporary, relevant and appropriate issue in the current circumstances of the Nigerian nation, considering Nigeria’s growing and diversifying economy, especially with both the public and private sectors admitting and committing to the fact that further and rapid diversification is vital to continuing and expanding the growth of the national economy

Professor Osinbajo who was delivering the keynote address at the huge lecture which held at Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, on the second day of the 2015 COSON Week, said that being an academician and an author, as his record of teaching law will show, no one should find his interest in creativity and authorship surprising.

Speaking to an audience made up of top players in the Nigerian music industry, senior academicians and intellectual property lawyers, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that he has been both a beneficiary of the copyright system as well as a victim of the scourge of piracy and all other forms of the adoption of someone’s original work without consent or the attribution of credit to the author.

According to Prof Osinbajo, Intellectual Property rights have become increasingly important in a wide range of human activities, not the least in the area of trade and cultural exchange. In his words: “the adoption of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (also known as the TRIPS Agreement) as part of the World Trade Organizations instruments, adopted after the Uruguay rounds of trade negotiations, underscores the connection between protection of intellectual property rights and promotion of trade across national boundaries. The general belief is that a strong intellectual property regime encourages domestic innovation, creativity and commitment to research. These are vital ingredients for societal development”.

Guest Speaker, Prof. Bankole Sodipo, took the expressed thoughts of the Vice President further by calling for urgent action to be taken to ensure the passage by the National Assembly of a new draft of the Nigerian Copyright Act which deals with issues arising from developments in the digital age.

Highlights of the explosive lecture may have been the decoration with the Copyright Grand Medal of Nigeria’s former Attorney-General, former Judge of the World Court at the Hague, Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Prince Bola Ajibola.

The 81 year old Prince Ajibola thanked COSON for what he described as one of the happiest days of his life. He said that he was particularly touched that he is alive to receive the honour and that it is not being presented posthumously. He singled out COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji whom he described as a man of incredible character, describing the confrontation he had with a young Okoroji 27 years ago, when as PMAN President, he organized a major demonstration that took over the Federal Ministry of Justice in Lagos and made Prince Ajibola who was then Attorney-General of the Federation promise the promulgation of the present copyright law within a month, a promise which he kept and a promise for which he was being honoured 27 years after.

The packed Banquet Hall of Lagos Sheraton Hotel also witnessed great entertainment, especially the enticing colabo between Azeezat Allen and the masked singer, Lagbaja, jointly performing Azeezats song, ‘Hold On’.  There was also a jaw dropping performance by a group of young boys and girls called Explicit which came from Ibadan.

Prof Osinbajo’s well received keynote address was read by Mr. Afam Ezekude, Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission who represented the Vice President at the momentous event.