EVALUATION OF THE LAW OF PATENTABILITY IN NIGERIA: EXCEPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS UNDER THE NIGERIAN PATENTS AND DESIGNS ACT (PDA)

Abstract

A patent is a legal right protecting an invention, which provides a new and inventive technical solution to a problem. The owner of a patent has the right to stop others from commercially exploiting the protected invention, for example by making, using, importing or selling it, in the country or region in which the patent has been granted. A patent is granted for the economical beneficial purpose of encouraging technological development. A patent is an authority or power that confers on an inventor the monopoly right for a set period of time, to exclude others from making, using, or selling a patented invention without consent. Patents are granted for the invention of products or processes. However, for it to be patentable, the invention must meet the following requirements provided in Section 1(1) of the PD Act. We have Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in 1994.2 Before the coming into force of the TRIPS Agreement, exceptions and limitations to patent rights were exclusively territorial preserve, as countries largely adopted them as they saw fit.3 However, the TRIPS Agreement, which brought some international harmony to patent law, introduced some substantive provisions on exceptions.4 The importance of having well-defined and strongly protected patent rights is now widely recognized among economists and policymakers globally. However, good legislations should be enacted to protect and guide the exclusivity of such rights and restrictions and exceptions to such rights. Such legislation will benefit third parties, the state and the even the patentee himself and the general public.