THE Taipei Trade Office in Nigeria has initiated collaboration with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to promote areas of common interest in the field of intellectual property (IP).
The Representative of the Taipei Trade Office, Mr. Andy Yih-Ping Liu, during a courtesy visit to the NCC Head office, Abuja, on 13th June 2013 said his Office was impressed with the intellectual property system in Nigeria and the vast and vibrant cultural industry with much local creative content which is also being appreciated and enjoyed in Taiwan.
He explained that Taiwan was a non-oil economy that relied heavily on IP as a major resource and that his visit was part of a dedicated effort by the Government of Taiwan to build relationships with countries that have robust IP culture. According to him, ‘’we are more interested in building legitimate relationships and have the technical knowhow to support Nigeria in the area of promoting its IP sector.’’
Mr Liu noted that Taiwan too was affected by the activities of copyright infringers but a lot had been done using technological tools to check copyright infringement.
Responding, the Director-General, NCC, Dr. John O. Asein, expressed appreciation for the visit and observed that the visit was the first of its kind establishing a direct link between the Commission and Taiwan. He said the Commission was always glad to deepen relationships with international partners that would assist in promoting IP in Nigeria.
Explaining further, the DG noted that he was aware of the enviable position of Taiwan as a technological hub and believe that collaboration between Nigeria and Taiwan would be beneficial particularly in the area of providing technical cooperation which would go a long way in addressing the activities of online pirates.
The Director-General explained some of the programmes and activities of the NCC to promote respect for copyright and encourage the use of IP by small and medium enterprises. He expressed optimism that with the current National IP Policy and Strategy recently developed to address all aspects of IP, Nigeria was on its way to becoming a major player in the field.
With the Director-General at the visit were the Director, Regulatory and Compliance, NCC, Mr Mike Akpan and Director, Nigerian Copyright Academy, Mr. Collins Nweke.
Andrew Dyege
For: Director-General
