Regulators want public, private partnership to curb piracy

To combat counterfeiting and piracy in Nigeria, regulators have advocated synergy between public and private sector in the country.

They noted that a strong intellectual property regime would boost Nigeria’s investment climate, which would enhance economic growth.

This was disclosed at a symposium organised by the United States with the theme, “The Bane of Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals and Piracy: Building Respect for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as a Strategic Resource for Economic Growth,” in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, Attorney-Adviser, Sub-Sahara Africa of United States Department of Justice, International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP), Tanya Hill, explained that IPR protection provides incentives to invent and create, protects innovators from unauthorised copying, supports startups liquidity and growth, among others.

Director-General, (DG) Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), John Asien, said people have died and others have taken loans without recovering them, while the nation has lost billions of dollars to piracy.

For every genuine material you find in the market, there are 10 pirated products and it kills investments. It is not just about the money but also that our creative sector is under threats,” he said.

Also speaking, Director General, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera, noted that IPR was vital to consumer protection and competition as fake and counterfeit products could harm consumers, as producers of such do not have the same sense of responsibility as the original makers of the products would have.

“The moment consumers are discouraged from purchasing on account of quality or other things, it would affect the economy because consumer spending is an important index in measuring economic growth.

“A thing that doesn’t promote satisfaction hurts the economy. Counterfeiting discourages legitimate companies from coming into an environment, it also discourages producers from innovating, which affects availability of jobs,” he added.

Irukera charged regulators to provide a system to ensure that the concept of piracy and counterfeits are eradicated, stressing that the business community must also take robust action to put up IPR, while consumers need to insist on what they want.

He explained that if these three stakeholders were properly managed, there would be a huge leap in protection of intellectual rights.