IP Committee hosts World IP Day 2015 in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment
On Monday, April 27, 2015, the Intellectual Property Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment hosted the 2015, World Intellectual Property Day Celebration, themed “Get Up, Stand Up, for Music” at Chelsea Hotel, Central Business District, Abuja.
The event was well received and had in attendance Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Afam Nwokedi, Managing Partner, Stillwaters Law Firm and Chairman, Intellectual Property Committee of the NBA, Allan Tousignant, Counsellor for Affairs, Embassy of the USA (representing the US Ambassador), Mrs. Nima Salman-mann, Registrar General of Trade Marks, Patents and Design, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, CEO, Copyright Society of Nigeria who delivered the keynote address, Engr. Umar Bindir, Director General of NOTAP, Mr. Joel Kopp, Economic adviser, US Embassy, Mr. Agada Elachi (who represented the SBL,NBA Chairman) as well as other industry practitioners and government agencies.
The keynote address focused on the relevance of IP to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy and the need to continuously sensitize the general public and stakeholders on the importance of Music, as a tool for re-engineering relationships, promoting cooperation amongst individuals and nations; a money earning venture.
The Honourable Minister, Dr. Aganga clearly acknowledged the pivotal role played by the NBA Section on Business Law (SBL) in the development of IP in recent years and thanked the leadership of the Council and IP Committee for a job well done. In conclusion, he urged his Ministry and SBL to develop robust and comprehensive strategic plans to transforming the IP sector for sustainable contributions to the nation’s GDP. He also promised to include in his hand over note, the need to establish an IP Charter within the Ministry of Trade and investment.
The high point of the event was the award of Face of Intellectual Property Nigeria 2015 to iMike, winner of MTN Project FAME Season 2 and crooner of the hit song Adaure.
Intellectual Property Owners Association: 43rd Annual General Meeting
The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) established in 1972, is holding its next annual meeting on September 27-29, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 151 East Wacker Drive Chicago, IL USA. For more information please visit their website: http://www.ipo.org/
International Chamber of Commerce Launches Two Antitrust Advocacy Tools at the 7th Annual ICC Roundtable on competition policy held on April 27, 2015
At the 7th Annual ICC Roundtable on Competition Policy held on April 27, 2015 in Sydney Australia, the organization announced the publication of its new antitrust compliance toolkit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) named: “Why Complying with Competition Law is Good for Your Business” (ICC SME Toolkit) and the ICC Recommendations on Pre-Merger Notification Regimes.
Mobile Companies not liable for users’ Copyright Infringement by the E.U Court
According to the E.U Court, mobile companies are not liable to pay compensation to copyright holders for the inclusion of legally acquired music or film on their devices for private use. This judgment is the product of a Danish case against Nokia by Copydan.
WordPress wins in court over fraudulent copyright takedown notices
This judicial precedent prevents any future devious copyright take down notices against mobile companies for their failure to withdraw particular publications
New gTLD issued by ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body charged with the registration of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses have continued to roll out new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) for registration. Since January 12, 2012 when ICANN began accepting applications for new gTLDs, some gTLDs like .adult and .porn have attracted public comments. However none has attracted much commercial interest like the recently launched .sucks gTLD. Many corporations and businesses have started working toward registering their trademarks within the sunrise phase.
Interestingly, while many businesses are working to register the .sucks gTLD in their name, it is a registration primarily meant for protection and not for use.
The sunrise phase for the registration of the .sucks gLTD ends on May 29, 2015
2015 SBL Annual Conference
The 9th annual conference of the Section on Business Law (SBL) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is slated to hold from June 7th to 9th, 2015 at Eko Hotel & Suites. The conference is themed, “Regulators as Catalysts for Economic Growth”.
INTA 2015
Reputed to be the largest annual meeting of its kind in the last 137 years, trademark professionals from about 150 countries all around the world would be gathering at San Diego, United States of America from May 2 -6 2015 for the International Trademarks Association’s annual meeting.
