A Review Of Nigeria's National Intellectual Property Policy & Strategy 2025

Executive Summary

Nigeria's National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy 2025 (the "Policy") represents the most comprehensive and ambitious attempt to modernize the country's intellectual property ("IP") system in several decades. Developed through a multi-year partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), the Policy establishes a cohesive framework for enhancing the legal, administrative, commercial, and enforcement dimensions of IP in Nigeria. It aims to position the country for innovation-driven economic growth, strengthen competitiveness, and facilitate deeper integration into regional and global trade systems.

The year 2025 is especially significant, given (i) Nigeria's accession to the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (Act of 1991) (the "UPOV Convention") on February 27, 2025, (ii) renewed global attention on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, following the 2024 WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (the "WIPO TK Treaty"), and (iii) the rapid expansion of Nigeria's digital and creative economies, all of which heightened the urgency for a modernized IP framework.

The Policy reflects Nigeria's evolving digital, creative, scientific, and agricultural landscapes, addressing longstanding fragmentation across agencies and outdated legislation that have struggled to meet the demands of modern innovation ecosystems. By setting out clear objectives, implementation structures, and monitoring mechanisms, the Policy provides a structured roadmap for reforming IP governance, incentivizing creativity and research, supporting commercialization, and aligning national practice with global standards, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS"), the WIPO Treaties, the UPOV Convention, and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights ("AfCFTA IPR Protocol"). Alignment with these instruments is expected to strengthen Nigeria's patent standards, ensure effective protection for plant varieties, modernize copyright frameworks, enhance enforcement mechanisms, and harmonize national procedures with regional and international norms to facilitate trade, technology transfer, and cross-border innovation.

Overview of the Policy

1. Background and Rationale for the Policy

The Policy is the product of a sustained institutional engagement that commenced in 2020, when the Federal Government of Nigeria partnered with WIPO to initiate a two-phase national reform programme. The first phase involved a comprehensive IP audit designed to assess Nigeria's legal frameworks, enforcement structures, administrative systems, and the broader innovation ecosystem. The findings from this phase confirmed significant systemic weaknesses that inhibited effective IP creation, protection, and commercialization.

The second phase was conducted between 2022 and 2025, and it involved targeted consultations with stakeholders across several sectors including the government, academia, industry, and civil societies. These engagements underscored the pressing need to update Nigeria's IP statutes, including the Patents and Designs Act, 1971 and the Trade Marks Act, 1965, both of which have become inadequate in light of technological advancements and evolving international norms.

Nigeria's reform trajectory is further informed by binding commitments under a range of international and regional instruments, including TRIPS, the UPOV Convention, the WIPO TK Treaty, and the AfCFTA IPR Protocol. These commitments require Nigeria to update its laws and administrative systems to reflect the evolving standards. For instance, the WIPO TK Treaty has direct implications for Nigeria's domestic framework, especially regarding the documentation of traditional knowledge,¹ the disclosure of origin requirements in patent applications,² and the establishment of clearer access-and-benefit-sharing obligations for the use of genetic resources and community-held knowledge.³

At the same time, national economic strategies, particularly the shift towards a knowledge driven economy, require a strong IP system that can support research, innovation, digital enterprise, and industrial competitiveness. The Policy therefore serves as both a response to these imperatives and a blueprint for long-term systemic reform.

2. Key Legal and Regulatory Reforms

The Policy outlines extensive reforms to Nigeria's IP legal framework, beginning with patents, industrial designs, and trademarks. The Patents and Designs Registry presently conducts only formal examination, a limitation that undermines the credibility of the rights granted and discourages domestic and foreign investment.⁴ The Policy therefore recommends the introduction of substantive examination, to be supported by the recruitment and continuous training of technically competent patent examiners. It further prioritizes automation of registry operations, modernization of IP databases, and the expansion of Technology and Innovation Support Centres to enhance access to prior art and improve the research environment.

For trademarks, the Policy highlights challenges such as outdated communication systems, limited automation, insufficient staffing, and procedural delays. It proposes reforms to modernize registry operations, strengthen the quasi-judicial opposition tribunal, improve regular publication of trademark journals, and address inconsistencies in agent accreditation and recordal processes. The Policy also underscores the need to align Nigerian trademark law with TRIPS obligations, particularly in relation to service marks⁵ and use requirements⁶.

Copyright law has already undergone significant modernization with the enactment of the Copyright Act 2022, fully incorporated into the Policy. The Copyright Act strengthens authors' rights, introduces modern exceptions and limitations, domesticates the 1996 WIPO Internet Treaties⁷, establishes a digital copyright registration system, and enhances the enforcement powers of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (the "NCC"). The Policy places strong emphasis on implementing the provisions of the Copyright Act, improving the NCC's capacity, expanding the Copyright Academy, and operationalizing the copyright levy scheme.

In the agricultural sector, the Policy builds on the Plant Variety Protection Act, 2021 (the "PVP Act") and Nigeria's recent accession to the UPOV Convention. It seeks the development of PVP regulations, effective operationalization of the Plant Breeders' Rights Office, and improved frameworks for licensing, variety registration, and breeders' rights enforcement.

Recognizing longstanding gaps in the protection of traditional knowledge ("TK"), genetic resources, and cultural expressions, the Policy proposes the creation of a national TK Registry and the development of a comprehensive legislative framework to govern ownership, documentation, benefit-sharing, and commercialization. It further integrates IP considerations into Nigeria's broader digital transformation strategy, including the Startup Act, 2022, emphasizing IP protection and internationalization for technology-enabled startups and digital innovators.

3. Institutional Reforms and Governance Structures

The Policy identifies institutional inefficiencies as a core impediment to effective IP administration, and consequently outlines targeted reforms across all IP agencies. At the Patents and Designs Registry, critical deficiencies include insufficient autonomy, inadequate staffing, budgetary limitations, and obsolete infrastructure. The Policy therefore mandates a holistic modernization programme that would overhaul workflow systems, strengthen human capacity, automate administrative processes, and improve technical infrastructure.

The Trademark Registry faces similar challenges, including an overstretched paper-based f iling/storage system, limited digital capabilities, reliance on outdated postal communication, and procedural bottlenecks. The Policy recommends expansion of the physical and digital f iling infrastructure, introduction of modern communication tools, and enhanced inter-agency coordination, particularly with regulatory bodies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control ("NAFDAC"), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria ("SON"), and the Nigeria Customs Service, which play crucial roles in IP protection and enforcement.

The Policy pays considerable attention to the NCC, acknowledging its broad statutory mandate, while noting that persistent underfunding has constrained its enforcement capacity. The Policy calls for stronger budgetary support, strategic partnerships with public and private stakeholders, and full implementation of digital registration and levy systems.

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion ("NOTAP") is also recognized as a pivotal institution for technology transfer and IP commercialization. The Policy reinforces its mandate to oversee technology transfer agreements, strengthen Technology Transfer Offices in universities and research institutes, and promote robust collaborations between the industry and academia.

The PVP Office remains nascent, with limited operational capacity and expertise. The Policy calls for the activation of the Plant Breeders' Rights Development Fund, the development of expertise in plant variety administration, and the establishment of simplified procedures for plant variety registration. It equally emphasizes the integration of the PVP Office into Nigeria's broader agricultural innovation ecosystem to ensure stronger support for breeders, farmers, and research institutions. Strengthening the PVP Office will help turn new plant varieties into commercially viable assets.

To harmonize national IP governance, the Policy establishes an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee, an IP Stakeholders' Forum, an Inter-Agency Coordination Group, and agency-level implementation units. These structures are designed to correct the lack of coordination among IP institutions, where agencies operated in silos with duplicative mandates, inconsistent procedures, and limited sharing of information. They are expected to eliminate duplication, improve policy coherence, and ensure that all parts of the IP system operate smoothly and in coordination.

4. IP Generation, Commercialization, and Technology Transfer

A key focus of the Policy is boosting IP creation and commercialization. While Nigeria has significant creative talent and research output, turning these into marketable products remains limited due to funding constraints, weak industry connections, and insufficient infrastructure for IP valuation and licensing. Given that Nigeria's venture capital ecosystem is still developing, there is a pressing need to promote IP-backed financing to enable startups and innovators to leverage patents, trademarks, and creative assets as collateral to secure investments. The Policy therefore calls for increased investment in research and development, establishment of standardized institutional IP policies within universities, and expansion of Technology Transfer Offices to support patenting, licensing, and innovation partnerships.

The Policy proposes the establishment of a National IP Commercialization Framework to provide guidance on the valuation, licensing, and monetization of IP assets, and promote the use of IP as collateral in finance transactions. It envisions a better support system for startups and innovators, which includes the development of innovation hubs, incubation centres, and commercialization schemes that support the translation of research into market-ready products.

The creative industry receives particular emphasis, with the Policy with the Policy highlighting Nollywood and the music industry. It calls for improved rights management systems, stronger collective management organisations, and increased involvement of state and local governments in creative sector development.

The commercialization strategy also covers traditional knowledge and new plant varieties, aiming to document them properly, verify ownership, share benefits fairly, and use them in an organized way.

5. Enforcement Reforms

The Policy identifies enforcement as one of the weakest elements of Nigeria's IP system and sets out extensive reforms aimed at enhancing compliance with the laws and deterring infringement. The Policy recommends the establishment of dedicated IP tribunals and increased use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to provide more efficient pathways for resolving disputes. It also calls for enhanced border enforcement measures, with customs authorities playing a more proactive role in identifying counterfeit goods and collaborating with IP agencies.

The Policy emphasizes regional cooperation under ECOWAS and the AfCFTA, which is crucial given the persistent challenge of cross-border piracy and counterfeiting, especially with pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and creative content. Coordinated action helps curb the movement of infringing goods and supports enforcement across borders.

The Policy further emphasizes the adoption of technology-enabled enforcement tools, including digital monitoring systems, enhanced IP databases, and coordinated intelligence sharing across agencies. It calls for systematic capacity building for judges, trademark opposition officials, and enforcement personnel, recognizing that effective enforcement requires skilled and adequately trained professionals.

6. Human Capital, IP Education, and Awareness

The Policy underscores the need to strengthen Nigeria's IP human capital base. IP education in universities remains limited outside of law faculties, and the Policy encourages broader inclusion of IP in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), arts, business, and innovation curricula. It supports the expansion of the Nigerian Copyright Academy and collaboration with WIPO, foreign IP offices, and professional associations to provide training in patent drafting, examination, industrial property management, and creative-sector governance.

Public awareness of IP rights is generally low, and the Policy calls for coordinated, nationwide awareness campaigns involving government agencies, academia, industry associations, and the media. The Policy presents stronger understanding of IP as a necessary foundation for increase in registration activity, improved IP compliance, reduced infringement, and enhanced innovation culture.

7. Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

To ensure its effectiveness, the Policy introduces a framework for monitoring and evaluation. This framework sets out clear objectives, performance indicators, implementation responsibilities, and timelines. A dedicated Monitoring and Evaluation Committee is tasked with developing implementation scorecards, tracking institutional performance, and reporting progress to the Federal Government. The framework aims to promote transparency, strengthen policy coherence, and ensure that implementation remains aligned with Nigeria's broader economic and developmental priorities.

Strategic Implications for Businesses, Investors, and Creators

The Policy has significant implications for businesses, creators, innovators, and investors. Enhanced legal and institutional frameworks will strengthen the certainty and enforceability of IP rights, and, in turn, improve Nigeria's investment climate and promote commercial stability. As administrative and digital reforms take effect, businesses will need to adopt more deliberate IP strategies, including comprehensive IP registration, portfolio management, IP monitoring techniques and compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

The Policy simultaneously creates new avenues for monetizing IP assets, expanding licensing and technology transfer transactions, and leveraging IP for financing. For creators and creative enterprises, stronger copyright systems and improved royalty frameworks promise greater economic value and predictability. For universities, researchers, and startups, the Policy promises a more enabling environment for innovation, industry collaboration, and commercialization.

All IP holders and creators should begin auditing their IP portfolios now to prepare for these coming changes and ensure their assets are fully protected and monetized.

Conclusion

The Policy marks a decisive advancement in Nigeria's approach to intellectual property regulation and governance. It offers a modern, coherent, and future-focused blueprint designed to address longstanding systemic deficiencies while positioning Nigeria to compete effectively in the global knowledge economy. The success of the Policy will depend on sustained institutional commitment, adequate funding, inter-agency coordination, and proactive stakeholder engagement. For lawyers, businesses, creators, and innovators, the Policy offers new ways to create value, protect IP, and gain a strategic advantage, making it important to become familiar with and adapt to the Policy sooner rather than later.

Footnotes

1. WIPO TK Treaty, Art. 6

2. Ibid, Art. 3

3. Preamble to the WIPO TK Treaty

4. Patents and Designs Act, s. 4(4)

5. Currently, the only reference to services is in section 67(1) of the Trade Marks Act, which defines 'goods' to include services. This amendment was made by the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2022.

6. TRIPS, Arts. 19 and 20

7. WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 and the WIPO Performances and Phonogram Treaty, 1996