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Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by Wallie(m): 3:17pm On Apr 18, 2012 |
There’s no doubt that there is a myriad of problems facing Nigeria but most of them are not directly related to creating employment. A simplistic way of looking at it is that regardless of what the government is doing we will continue to consume certain things and those things need to get manufactured, farmed, collated and/or sold. If this premise is true, then employment is mostly indirectly linked to the government especially when there are enabling laws already in place. The article quoted below shows an extreme example of what can be gained by strong intellectual property laws that gets enforced. Could intellectual property enforcement be what’s needed to unlock Nigeria’s potential? Currently, there are industries that will immediately see the benefits of stronger IP protection, which will mean a better ROI that could be ploughed back into that industry to create more innovations/jobs. If I have a goose that lays golden eggs, you better believe that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the goose continues to lay eggs for as long as possible! Industries that will see immediate benefits include: 1. Nollywood 2. Music industry 3. Manufacturers in Aba 4. Pharmaceutical companies etc Industries that will immediately spring up include: 1. Computer peripherals manufacturers 2. Furniture manufacturers 3. Tools manufacturers 4. Tech companies 5. Patent attorneys etc Essentially, our economy will compete with South Africa’s economy in terms of advancement in industries. The demand is already there, 162 million people strong! What are your thoughts? US Commerce Department Releases New Report Showing Intellectual Property-Intensive Industries Contribute $5 Trillion, 40 Million Jobs to US Economy 2 Likes |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by AjanleKoko: 10:19am On Apr 19, 2012 |
Hmm. Let me ponder this, and will come back to post my thoughts. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by yamakuza: 6:15pm On Apr 19, 2012 |
AjanleKoko: Hmm. same thing i thought here! Lolz. Kinda comes across as too long or too technical, so people are staying away. Maybe op can give them/us a summary/foothold? As for me, i dont believe strict Intellectual Property laws can lead to growth of industries in present day Nigeria. In fact, i believe that companies stand to gain more from espionage for now, at least till they get things right. Lets copy copy till we learn how to do things well. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by AjanleKoko: 6:34pm On Apr 19, 2012 |
yamakuza: Actually you don talk am finish. Look at China, stealing with reckless abandon, and making progress. The real catalyst for growth that we need in Nigeria is government investment in infrastructure and innovation hubs. Let government put money in Aba, Computer Village, and whoever is making anything. In fact, encourage people to make things. IP can come later later, maybe our children's generation. For now let's make things. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by yamakuza: 7:10pm On Apr 19, 2012 |
^ Yes oh! By the time EVERYONE is making things, and the need for differentiation arises, then we might want to consider IP Laws. For now, i believe such a law will kill/hinder the little "creativity" we have. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by AjanleKoko: 6:03pm On Apr 20, 2012 |
yamakuza: ^ Yes oh! By the time EVERYONE is making things, and the need for differentiation arises, then we might want to consider IP Laws. It will take a long time. Right now, we need to steal know-how from everywhere, to be able to progress. Else we are screwed, and will remain screwed. In my opinion, Nigeria is over-regulated sef. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by kunlekunle: 3:36am On Apr 21, 2012 |
creativity and invention should be problem solving based. we need to engage in solving internal/ domestic problems first that will alleviate our creativity and increase the IP law |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by AjanleKoko: 9:18am On Apr 23, 2012 |
This reminds me of a discussion I had with some friends a few days back. Essentially, we were trying to figure out the difference between innovation and invention. Sometimes we mix up both terms, i.e. people tend to assume that they mean the same thing. They don't. While invention refers to creating something new, innovation is all about solving problems with new methods, sometimes, using tools and techniques that are already available. In most cases, our problems in Nigeria are very basic, even man-made at times. Before we can talk about invention, intellectual property, and patents, we need to start to innovate, i.e. solve problems that have been caused by corruption and misgovernance, or just plain lack of opportunity. One thing is clear, Nigerians are innovative. Some people created 'pure water' to solve the problem of producing drinkable water on the go, Okadas rose to become a viable alternative for road transport in the face of poor road infrastructure. However, these 'innovations' need some level of intellectual input. I remember someone asking why Nigerian engineers haven't been able to improve on the local 'grinding machine'. When you think about it, I have to ask myself why not? |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by Wallie(m): 6:31pm On Apr 23, 2012 |
I was out of commission for a few days but I'm back! While the post below is a lovely attempt to distinguish innovation from invention, it falls short because of the way invention is legally defined. For you to have an invention, your solution has to be novel (innovative), described in enough detail and non-obvious. In other words, you cannot have an invention without innovation. They don't mean the same thing because "invention" is a loaded term that is legally defined - a lot more than just innovation. The pure water and Okada examples you gave would be an invention if they are non-obvious and falls within what is statutorily patentable. It is not hard coming up with a solution that's novel but a lot harder to overcome non-obviousness by one skilled in that art. For example, you could try to patent a soccer ball with a microchip in it that allows you to precisely tell where the ball is on the field. However, it would probably be deemed obvious because soccer ball is known and embedding chip in an Ice Hockey puck is known. When you add the two together, you will have what you’re trying to patent. AjanleKoko: This reminds me of a discussion I had with some friends a few days back. Essentially, we were trying to figure out the difference between innovation and invention. Sometimes we mix up both terms, i.e. people tend to assume that they mean the same thing. They don't. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by Wallie(m): 6:36pm On Apr 23, 2012 |
yamakuza: ^ Yes oh! By the time EVERYONE is making things, and the need for differentiation arises, then we might want to consider IP Laws. Are you sure? How about Nollywood? Copyright and Trademark laws fall under IP law. Do you think Nollywood producers would not want to stamp out piracy to increase their ROI? People will naturally flock to any industry with crazy ROI, which in turns increase investment resulting in better products. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by Wallie(m): 6:46pm On Apr 23, 2012 |
AjanleKoko: China actually enforces their IP laws when they want! Local company vs. local company, they will enforce the laws but local company vs. foreign companies, good luck! There are ways of acquiring IP without inhibiting our growth. Partner with the company that has the IP, which is what a lot of China manufacturers do when they can’t steal it outright. The government can make it happen by (1) stop importation of the product in question and (2) requiring foreign companies that manufacture the products to partner with local companies. A lot of countries do this especially the Arabs. South Africa has a functioning IP law that’s enforced. My firm actually represented a South African company that’s trying to sue a couple of American manufacturers for patent infringement. One of them settled and licensed the patent and the other one tried to evade service. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by Wallie(m): 6:48pm On Apr 23, 2012 |
kunlekunle: creativity and invention should be problem solving based. Not really sure I understand what you're saying. Internal/domestic problems are not mutually exclusive to IP laws. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by Wallie(m): 6:56pm On Apr 23, 2012 |
We can also leverage on the treasure trove of patents already filed to understand the needed details to build a particular product. I'm not advocating stealing but even if a Nigerian company were to steal/infringe on an issued patent, I doubt the patent owners will sue you unless you become a very big fish that threatens their existence. |
Re: Could This Be The Growth Catalyst Nigeria Needs To Create Employment? by AjanleKoko: 8:35am On Apr 24, 2012 |
Wallie: We can also leverage on the treasure trove of patents already filed to understand the needed details to build a particular product. I'm not advocating stealing but even if a Nigerian company were to steal/infringe on an issued patent, I doubt the patent owners will sue you unless you become a very big fish that threatens their existence. That makes sense. At least we can clone local versions of inventions that have been patented elsewhere. |
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