Experts say Intellectual Property (lP) protection is a pharmaceutical or biotech company’s most valuable resource and it is a key to the company’s future success.
According to Chukwuemeka Ubaka, a pharmacist, patents not only help pharmaceutical companies recoup investments, they can also act as a shield against infringement claims.
“Strong patent protection can safeguard drugs against potential infringers. Without consent from the patentee, other competing companies cannot use, make or distribute the invention,” he said.
Speaking at a forum in Lagos, Ubaka said that registering copyrights, trademarks and patent are three of the most common types of intellectual property protection.
He stressed that: “These grant you the exclusive rights to your creations, especially when it comes to the commercial gains of its use”
He described intellectual property as a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. It refers to creations of the mind such as inventions, literary and artistic works.
“While intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creation of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of the time.
“It protects what a business creates and maximises the business competitiveness. It is critical in fostering innovations. Without protection of ideas, businesses and individuals would not keep the full benefits of their inventions and would focus less research and development,” he said.
On his part, an Assistant Editor with The Guardian newspaper, Mr. Chukwuma Muanya, noted that intellectual property rights can be used in information technology.
According to him, the law provides different methods for protecting these rights of ownership based on the type.
He revealed that there are essentially four types of IP rights relevant to software which are patents, copyrights and trade secrets can be used to protect the technology itself.
“Building respect for IP means helping create an environment in which it can fulfill its role to stimulate innovation and creation. It also means fostering an environment in which the system of protection provides equitable benefits for both owners and users of intellectual property.”
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