Intellectual Property Rights: The Effects on Information Security and Research Innovations in Nigeria

Abstract

The rise of new digital technologies and file-sharing networks has definitely made it harder for organizations to protect their intellectual property (IP). This is made even harder by the fact that there is no uniformity in the enforcement of laws that are designed to protect against IP theft, especially in Nigeria. Nigeria is ranked among countries in Africa where Intellectual Property (IP) theft or piracy is prevalent. Technology required for the operation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Nigeria is still largely undeveloped,out-dated, and nonsustainable despite the huge human resources and technological innovations.This study highlights the gaps created by the ineffectiveness of anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy tactics to curb the challenges of IP and strategies to close them. In this study, the authors explored a narrative review of prior research that focused on the theoretical underpinnings of vast works of literature that revealed significant information on IP challenges facing research and innovation for national development and strategies to close these gaps. The authors also extracted peerreviewed articles within the last five years from electronic databases, using some keywords such as "intellectual property", "IPRs", "IP penalty and offences", etc. Results show that IP regulations and policies are crippled by outdated , non-sustainable or virtually non-existent policies, counterfeiting and anti-piracy system. Findings from this study may encourage proper implementation of IP: copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets for technological innovations and development in Nigeria.