WIPO lauds NOTAP as critical developer of IP ecosystem

As part of the concluding session of the 2021 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) National Essay competition for students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, a delegation of WIPO and Intellectual Property (IP) competitors recently paid a courtesy/learning visit to the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) corporate headquarters, Abuja.

In his opening remarks, the leader of the delegation and head of WIPO-Nigeria Office (WNO), Mr. Moody Oluwatobiloba said that they were in NOTAP to appreciate the Director General, Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim for making himself available to act as one of the judges/panelists at the just concluded National IP Essay competition as well as his numerous supports to WIPO.

Adding that, “NOTAP is critical to the development of IP ecosystem in Nigeria and this is a very important reason why we have visited today, to also hear more about the functions and activities of the Office in creating IP awareness within the Nigerian knowledge institutions.”

The press statement signed by Mr. Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu states that Mr. Moody further said 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 support student engagement and research in the field of intellectual property in Nigeria. He added that building on the success of the maiden edition, the Second Edition of the competition was launched by the WNO on April 19, 2021 as part of WNO’s activities in celebration of the World IP Day 2021 with the theme “IP and SMEs, Taking your ideas to market.”

He stated that the essay competition invited students of tertiary institutions across Nigeria to submit essays not exceeding 1500 words on the topic “Intellectual Property, SMEs, and Economic Recovery in Nigeria.”

Earlier in his address, the Director General of NOTAP Dr. Mohammed DanAzimi Ibrahim commended WIPO for the visit and for creating IP consciousness amongst Nigerian students through the National IP Essay competition, adding that the competition has increased the IP awareness as well as stimulated research/interest in creative writing.