The Past few years have witnessed the rise of the Nigerian creative and innovative industries, from the global recognition and acceptance of Afrobeats to the rapidly developing FinTech ecosystem. Nigerians have been making an impact in the world through creativity and innovation and there's no end in sight, with the backing of intellectual property laws such as the Copyright Act 2022, which continue to provide avenues for accelerating innovation and creativity.
Following the celebration of the World IP day 2023, which focuses on women accelerating innovation and creativity, we at Dentons ACAS- Law, celebrate the many Nigerian women making a difference in their industries with the aid of intellectual property. We recognise some women in the creative and innovative industries accelerating innovation and creativity, specifically in the music, fashion, arts (literature) and technology industry.
Intellectual Property in Music – Recognising Temilade Openiyi (Tems)
Music is arguably one of the most celebrated creative art forms in the world. In Nigeria, the music industry generates over $2 billion in revenue per year, making it one of the largest industries in the Country, with new line of sight to global revenue especially with the surge in popularity of the Afrobeats genre across the world.
The intellectual property right that protects music is copyright and it is because of this right that musical artists can create value from their music through reproduction, distribution, performance and other exclusive rights.
In a male dominated industry, we recognize the work of singer and songwriter, Temilade Openiyi (Tems) who has played a vital role in accelerating creativity in Nigeria. Tems has written music for various artists, collaborated in many songs, and performed on global platforms. She is also the first Nigerian female musical artist to win a Grammy Award and be nominated at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts.
Intellectual Property in Arts (literature) – Recognising Chimamanda Adiche
Works of literature in Nigeria including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, etc. just like music, are protected by copyright, and for many years, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche has dominated this field and taken advantage of the copyright in her work to continuously push the envelope of literature which has not gone unrecognized.
Chimamanda's work has received numerous accolades including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and Women's Prize for Fiction. She is also one of the few authors/novelists who has been featured in a musical composition, which landed her a Grammy nomination. We recognise the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche and applaud her accomplishments.
Intellectual Property in Fashion Design – Recognising Andrea Iyamah
Intellectual Property in the Nigerian fashion industry is mainly protected by the trademarks Act and the Patents and Designs Act. Although the Copyright Act also protect aspects of fashion design, the condition that such work must not be created for use as a model or pattern to be multiplied by an industrial process must be met to acquire copyright protection.
In celebration of the world IP day, we recognize the work of Andrea Dumebi Iyamah, the founder of the Andrea Iyamah, a fashion line inspired by ethnic cultures and elements of nature. Andrea's unique work has gained repeated recognitions and features in the likes of Vogue and Forbes.
Intellectual Property in Technology – Recognising Odunayo Eweniyi
The principal intellectual property rights protection in relation to technology are copyrights and trade secrets. Software can also receive patent protection where it meets requirements of the Patents and Design Act such as novelty.
In Nigeria, the Financial Technology (FinTech) ecosystem has maintained a steady growth trajectory, which has produced 5 unicorns and contributed massively to the Country's economy, with many players providing value ranging from payments solutions to servicing the unbanked and underbanked population of the Country.
In the flurry of activities in the FinTech space, we recognize the work of Odunayo Eweniyi, cofounder of PiggyVest, an online saving platform that is contributing towards accelerating innovation in the financial services industry in Nigeria.
With the evolution of technology, there is ample opportunity for women to play active roles in innovation and creativity. We encourage women to take advantage of the protection of intellectual property and contribute towards accelerating innovation and creativity.
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