Speaking during the visit, the leader of the delegation and head of WIPO-Nigeria Office (WNO), Dr. Moody Oluwatobiloba, said that it had become the tradition of WIPO-Nigeria to take the IP essay finalists to major IP stakeholders to interact, share ideas, and also make recommendations based on their research on how to improve the Nigerian IP ecosystem. Dr. Moody said that NOTAP was critical to the development and growth of the IP ecosystem in Nigeria, hence their visit is to learn more about the functions and activities of the Office in creating IP awareness within Nigerian knowledge institutions and also introducing the 2025 IP essay competition finalists to NOTAP.
The WIPO-Nigeria Office boss, who described NOTAP as an incredible partner in intellectual property development, noted that since the establishment of the WIPO-Nigeria Office, the organization had craved to increase Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) awareness, and the major platform through which they had made remarkable progress was through NOTAP. He stated that the 2025 WIPO Essay competition was very intense and had 188 entries from 50 universities across the country. Adding that after a painstaking evaluation of the essays by the panelists, these 20 came out tops, hence emerging as finalists.
Dr. Moody further stated that the maiden edition of the WIPO National IP Essay Competition was launched on April 26, 2020, by the WIPO-Nigeria Office (WNO) as part of efforts to encourage students’ engagement in research in the field of intellectual property. He said that the 2025 IP essay competition had the theme “IP and Music: Harnessing Nigeria’s Music Industry for Economic Growth.” The essays were to consider the effects that a robust music industry, when supported by strong IP law and implementation, could have on Nigeria’s economy.
He said that the annual competition is held to celebrate World Intellectual Property (IP) Day, which takes place every year on April 26. According to him, it aims to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property in encouraging creativity, innovation, and economic development worldwide.
Earlier in her address, the Director-General of NOTAP, Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, commended WIPO for the visit and for creating IP consciousness amongst Nigerian students through the National IP Essay competition, adding that the competition had increased IP awareness as well as stimulated research and interest in creative writing. She equally commended all the 2025 WIPO essay competition participants, especially the finalists, for their commitment and zeal to improve their knowledge of IP through research.
“I commend you more for the quality of comments and eloquent presentation of your findings on issues that are hindering the growth of the music industry and the recommended solutions to the challenge,” Dr. Amadiobi said. She noted that technology is a product of research, while research results are intellectual assets that, if well managed, can change the economic fortunes of the researcher.
She called on the winners of the 2025 IP competition, especially those with a science background, to consider taking up further studies in law to become IP attorneys, which, according to her, is scarce in the country. The DG stated that NOTAP was established to regulate the inflow of foreign technologies into the country through the registration of technology transfer agreements, adding that the office also has the duty of developing indigenous technologies.
She further stated that most of the technology transfer agreements registered in NOTAP were on software and urged Nigerian researchers to give more attention to software development. She added that NOTAP formulated a policy to strengthen and mainstream IP development in Nigeria, known as the Local Vendor Policy. She said that the policy was to ensure that no foreign software would be deployed in Nigeria without the active involvement of an indigenous software provider.
In a statement signed by the Assistant Chief Information Officer of the Office, Raymond Ogbu, the DG said that the Office would continue to partner with WIPO to ensure adequate publicity for the next edition of the competition to ensure that all regions of the country are adequately represented.
While presenting their findings, the finalists recommended that NOTAP should organize a forum or platform where music artists, their sponsors, and other stakeholders would come together to share ideas on how to improve and strengthen the IP system to discourage piracy. They also recommended that NOTAP should leverage the available digital technology to ensure that performing musicians are adequately remunerated through royalty payments.
