NCC seeks inclusion of intellectual property studies in varsity curricula

The Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Dr John Asein, has called for the integration of general intellectual property education into the curricula of Nigerian universities.

He made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of a meeting with winners of the 2025 WIPO Nigeria National Essay Competition in Abuja.

The meeting was part of a study visit by the winners to present policy recommendations to the commission and to better understand its statutory operations.

According to Asein, the drive for IP education in universities is part of a broader effort by the commission to promote a strong culture of respect for IP rights from an early age.

He said Nigeria was a leading creative hub in Africa and that its citizens, particularly the younger generation, needed a clear understanding of IP and copyrights to fully maximise the country’s creative potential.

Asein noted that tertiary institutions, as centres of learning and research, needed to introduce students and lecturers to IP studies in line with global trends and to make Nigerian universities more competitive.

“That will help the students to value the creativity and innovation in them and also know why they need to respect other people’s intellectual property.

What we are saying in that regard is not to have a full course on IP, but as part of the general studies, they should have some modules on IP.

“Then, for some other courses that are innovation- or creativity-based, they should have IP as part of the course.

“For instance, if you are a student of fine arts or any of the arts in a university or a polytechnic, you need to understand what rights you have in the works you are producing.

“If you are in the business field, you need to understand the value of trademarks and branding to businesses, so you will not be shortchanged in the business world.

“For those in sciences who are hoping to innovate or to invent, and you don’t know what patents mean, anyone can come and buy your innovation or your invention for peanuts,” he said.

Asein said the NCC would continue to provide simplified materials for students, lecturers, and other users and would seize every opportunity to promote the initiative.

He stated that the commission had recently presented the revised Model IP Policy to the General Assembly of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities.

He said the model policy, developed in collaboration with the CVCNU in 2021, was reissued as part of efforts to promote its adoption and implementation.

“So, for Nigeria to actually grow and use innovation and creativity, it must also educate those who are going to be producing that innovation or creativity.

That is why we think the best place to start is at the school level or the university level.

“It is good enough if every student that passes through a higher institution of learning is able to understand the rudiments of intellectual property.

“We are talking to NUC, we are talking to the vice-chancellors and the individual universities to imbibe more of IP knowledge in building their students,” he said.

Asein urged universities to integrate the WIPO Distance Learning 101 course on IP, which is available online for free, into their general studies curricula.

He also congratulated the winners of the 2025 essay competition, saying they would be equipped with relevant copyright knowledge and appointed as Ambassadors of the commission in its fight against copyright infringement.

In his remarks, Director of the WIPO Nigeria Office, Dr Tobi Moody, commended the NCC for its commitment to IP and copyright issues and its support for the annual essay competition.

According to him, the National Essay Competition, which started in 2020, aims to equip tertiary students with IP knowledge.

He said the theme for the 2025 edition was “IP and Music: Harnessing Nigeria’s Music Industry for Economic Growth.”

Moody said the competition encourages students to think critically about the role of IP in driving innovation and creativity, particularly within the country’s growing music sector.

“I want to acknowledge the role of the Copyright Commission, especially in the judging process, as we have at least three senior members of the commission among the judges.

“I want to also thank the Director-General for releasing your best to support us on this initiative.

“This year, we had a total of 188 entries for the competition, and for about four months, we had 20 excellent judges who reviewed these entries painstakingly.

Then we came up with 17 finalists and three top winners, making it 20, which we as an organisation seek to further invest in and support as Ambassadors for intellectual property,” he said.

Moody added that the top three winners would receive scholarships for further training abroad.

(NAN)