NATIONAL OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION AND PROTECTION’s INTERVENTIONS IN THE PROMOTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL

Abstract

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion is the primary government agency responsible for overseeing technology transfer activities in Nigeria. This paper used the doctrinal research methodology to critically examine NOTAP as an agency for the transfer of technology and found that, in fulfilling its mandate to move Nigeria from the periphery to the dominant center of the global industrial power structure, NOTAP has adopted a technology acquisition strategy and a vibrant innovation, research, and development commercialization program. To this end, NOTAP executes a series of pivotal functions designed to propel Nigeria’s technological field forward. One of these functions under the Act is the promotion of intellectual property rights, which it achieves through the evaluation and registration of Technology Transfer Agreements, among other initiatives. In the promotion of these intellectual property rights, NOTAP encounters several challenges, including excessive reliance on imported technology. A comparative analysis of the agencies responsible for overseeing technology transfer activities in the United States of America and South Africa was carried out, and lessons were drawn from it. Recommendations were thereafter made on how best NOTAP can promote intellectual property activities, including the development of Nigeria’s own intellectual property rights, regulation of the influx of foreign technology, and consistent funding and policy