Intellectual property protection for software: A global perspective and lessons for development and reform in Nigeria

• Pages: 1-30
• Date: 12 February 2020
• Published date: 12 February 2020
• Author: Adewopo, A.
• Citation: (2019) IPLJ 1

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

PROTECTION FOR SOFTWARE:

A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE AND

LESSONS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND

REFOR M IN NIGERIA

 

Professor, Nigerian Insti tute of Advanced Legal Studies

ABST RACT

The protectio n of software or comput er programs a s the case may be is per haps one of

the most intr actable intellec tual property (IP) mat ters in the regulation of tec hnological

innovation. It ha s engendered considerable controver sy in the normative stru cture of IP

law and in its inte raction with the rapid tec hnological advances of the 21st centur y in the

                

inexorably shaped t he boundaries of its pre cise legal protection. From co untry to count ry,

                

   

article disc usses the subject from a global an d development perspective. It exami nes the

IP standa rd for software protection u nder the Nigerian law and comp ares it with the UK,

EU and the US, and prop oses reform of the existin g regime.

KEYWORDS: Compute r programs; copyrig ht; patents; sui generis protection; Nigeria

  

While the natu re of software as a u nique technological innovation has largely

    



           

protection. The discord ant tunes from key players in t he major intellectual

     

                      1 have cont inued

                    

1 Since the advent of com puter technology and sof tware industr y following, there has be en a rich

body of literat ure on the subject. Ge nerally, among others, se e WR Cornish ‘Compute r Program

Copyright a nd the Berne Convention’ (1990) 12 EIPR 129; AG Gonzalez ‘The sof tware patent

debate’ (2006) 1(3) Journal of Inte llectual Prope rty Law and Pr actice 196–206; M Bu zzi et

al ‘Patentabilit y of Computer-Impleme nted Inventions: T he European Di rective Propo sal’

(2005) IA DIS Internationa l Conference e-So ciety; RP Merges ‘As Many As Six Po ssible Patents

Before Breakfa st: Propert y Rights for Busi ness Concepts A nd Patent System Refor m’ (1999)

14 Be rkeley Technolog y Law Journal 577; G Ghidini and E Arez zo ‘Dynamic competition i n

software develo pment: how copyrights, and p atents and their overlappin g impact on derivative

innovation’ (2013) 3(4) Queen Mary Jour nal of Intel. Prop 278–295; SJ H Graham and D C

Mowery ‘Intellec tual Property Pr otection in the US Software I ndustry’ in WM Cohen a nd SA

Merill (eds) Patents in t he Knowledge-Based Ec onomy (2003) 219; PS Menell ‘Can Our Curr ent

Conception of Copy right Law Survive the Int ernet Age? Envisioning Copyr ight Law’s Digital

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(2019) IPLJ 1

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to shape the debate on the legal lands cape. From a developing country

perspective, the impe rative for rethinki ng the scope of legal protection for

software innovation is even more comp elling. This is so given the rapidly

expanding frontier s of new technologies which are shaping the ec onomic and

cultural models for foster ing local inventive and innovation capacities a nd

bridging the persist ent digital gap. The centrality of IP protect ion for software

raises import ant questions of the promotion of creativity, innovation a nd



           

sustain the never-ending d iscussion of its legal protection.

This art icle seeks to contribute to the I P software debate. It is divided into

six parts. In pa rt one, the art icle underpins the discou rse on the import ance

of software as a technological in novation. In part two, it discus ses the state

of IP protection under patent a nd copyright laws, the two pri mary legal

    

the duality and complexit y of protection of software. In par t three, the paper

       

             

has character ised IP software cont roversy. It examines emergent trends in

the software indus try globally and Nigeria. I n part four, the art icle examines

software protection u nder the draft I ndustrial Prope rty Commis sion Bill

(IPCOM Bill) in Nigeria as a signpost to t he nature and scope of protect ion

            

development policy perspectives in the prote ction available under patent and

copyright laws and draws on t he lessons of inadequacies of both protec tions.

Based on the problems associated w ith patent and copyright regi mes, part

    sui generis regime as a desi rable and appropriate

protection for software tech nology, hinging it on the need for legal certai nty

and tailoring an i mportant technological subject matter to meet t he objectives

of development in a developing country like Nigeria.

  

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information and a com munication technology revolution. The effect of

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Nguyen ‘From Alappat t o Alice: The Evolution of Software Pate nts’ (2017) 9 Hastings Scie nce

& Tec. Law Rev 1; S McJohn ‘Top tens in 2017: Patent, Trade Mark , Copyright an d Trade

Secret Cases’ (2018) 16 NW J Tech & Intell Prop 41; Michael Campolongo ‘Pat ent Eligibility

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Student Scholarship 988, available at schola rship.shu.edu/st udent_schol arship/988 (accesse d

10 July 2019); C Okoye ‘Patenting Computer Prog rams under Nig erian Law’ (2016) 7(4) The

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2 South African Intellectual Property Law Journal (2019) 7

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