By Perpetua Onuegbu
Abuja – The Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, says a nation’s intellectual property assets, inform of technological innovations can be the basis for global classification of development.
Onu made this remark at the opening of a one-day sensitisation workshop for chief executive officers of agencies under the ministry.
He said that intellectual property rights and its management had become one of the critical conditions for global trade and determinant of investment destinations by foreign investors.
“Indeed intellectual property in the form of technological innovations have today become the basis of global classification of nations into developed, developing, least developed countries.
“The speedy industrialisation of any country and its growth depends largely on the efforts of its researchers and innovation coupled with friendly economic environment.
“Therefore, our innovation system managers should be conversant with intellectual property issues both at national and international levels.’’ Onu said.
According to the minister, the workshop became imperative for the heads of the different agencies because most lack sufficient understanding of the socio-economic benefits of acquiring intellectual property rights.
Onu said that in the bid to commercialise research and development findings, about 90 per cent of research outputs end up losing their values as intellectual property assets to the nation.
“What we are doing today is very important in our journey toward a sustainable economy; we want to make sure that our researchers’ works do not end up in the lab.
“You need to have patent because that is the only way you can protect your intellectual property, our inventors should make money for their inventions by protecting them,’’ he said.
The minister therefore charged the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), the organisers of the workshop to patent any research findings that have reached the commercialisation level.
He said that every research institute, university and polytechnic should establish a NOTAP desk office to enable them be guided adequately on how to commercialise their research findings.
Mrs Belewa Wakama, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology said that the aim of the workshop was to embark on commercialisation of Research and Development results available in the agencies.
She said this was to ensure that they contributed to the Federal Government efforts toward diversifying the revenue base of the country through wealth creation to reduce unemployment and its menace in the country.
“Intellectual Property Rights of (IPRs), to an inventor is like Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property.
“It enhances commercial value and attracts investors quickly, encourages technological generation and its commercialisation as it guarantees reward for excellence, return on investments and wealth creation,
“IPRs also encourages generation of new hi-tech products or services and facilitates development of new start-ups,’’ she said.
Dr Dan-Azumi Ibrahim, the Director-General, NOTAP, said that the economic prosperity of any nation was not judged by the contents of the raw materials it had but by the quality of the knowledge it had.
He said that it was in the realisation of this fact that the minister directed that all heads of the agencies be brought together and be sensitised on the importance of IPs “and how to turn inventions into products and services’’.
“When you invent something that has the potential of producing products and services, and if you don’t protect it, someone can take it and make money from it without you getting anything out of it.
“That is why this workshop is organised to make all realise that when an inventor invents a product, he may not have the money to commercialise it but an entrepreneur who can see the opportunity in it will acquire it,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the highpoint of the event was the presentation of patent certificates to inventors in 2016.
They include Air Force Institute of Technology, Nigerian Air Force, Kaduna, for the production of Hydraulic Accumulator Diaphragm and Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi for its Animal Feed Production using okara and cassava.