The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) defines
Intellectual Property (IP) to mean creations of the mind, such as
inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols,
names and images used in commerce.
In Nigeria, the three main legislation that govern and protect
IP rights are the Copyright Act, the Patents and Designs Act, and
the Trade Marks Act. While the Copyright Act is mainly focused on
the governance and protection of the rights in musical and artistic
works, the Patents and Designs Act governs and protects rights to
inventions that extend to things like machines, devices, chemical
compositions, industrial designs and manufacturing processes. The
Trade Marks Act, on the other hand, governs and protects rights in
marks, signs, or other such combination that is peculiar to a
particular owner for identification of the owner's design and
differentiating it from other products, especially competitors.
