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FG warns against intellectual property rights’ violation

By BusinessNews Staff on April 29, 2015

The Federal Government on Monday called on Nigerians to raise the awareness on the importance of intellectual property rights, stating that their violation was having negative effects on the economy.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, stated this in Abuja at an event to commemorate this year’s World Intellectual Property Day.

The event, with theme: ‘Get up, stand up for music’, was attended be stakeholders in the entertainment industry.

Aganga said since music was a major means of communicating with or without the use of words, it was one of the best methods to sensitise members of the public to issues of counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property rights.

He said there was a need to further raise awareness among Nigerians about the evil of stealing other people’s efforts, adding that as the largest lover of music in Africa, Nigeria had little to show for it.

The minister said the reforms carried out in the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the Intellectual Registry Department, among others, would go a long way to ensure that intellectual property issues in the country were effectively addressed.

He said, “Intellectual property is a foundation upon which development and economic growth are spread; it is a basis for the evolution of nations from being tagged developing to developed.

“Music is a universal language that appeals to everybody. It is a major means of communication with or without the use of words; it is one of the best methods of getting a message across to people of any age, any race and of any tribe.”

[Punch]

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