NOTAP tasks inventors on commercialisation of intellectual property

THE National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has urged inventors and researchers on the commercialisation of their Intellectual Property (IP) for economic gains.

Acting Director-General of NOTAP, Dr Theresa Imiyoho, gave the advice in Abuja recently.

She said the office is working to ensure that Nigerian inventors and innovators exploit the financial benefits of their research results through the establishment of IP offices in knowledge institutions across the country.

“Intellectual property offices were established across the country to ensure that researchers who have patented their inventions can exploit their financial benefits through commercialisation.

“Patents that cannot address economic challenges like unemployment, poverty or translate into products and services, become liabilities and are not worth keeping.

“Researchers with patented inventions or innovations can license them for the purposes of getting royalties accruing from their research undertakings or sell them off to venture capitalists for onward commercialisation,” she said.

According to her, over the years, Nigeria has depended more on consumption of products from foreign countries, while the country is blessed with an array of intellectuals.

She said, “Inventions and innovations are products of research; therefore, Nigerian researchers should take up market and demand-driven research that will translate into goods and services for the benefit of the country.

“Rather than the conventional research for the purposes of career progression, researches are to ensure the commercialisation of their patents in order to exploit the financial benefits.”

“Intellectual property is the property of human intellect and should be exploited through commercialisation for the financial benefit of the holder.

“IP right is a right granted to the owner of an invitation by the government to exclude others from financial exploitation of the invention for a number of years to enable the owner recoup his/her investment.

“No meaningful technology development could be achieved by any country without investing heavily on research, which is capable of turning  products to the market for local satisfaction.”

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