WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/Q/NGA/1/Add.1 
IP/Q2/NGA/1/Add.1 
IP/Q3/NGA/1/Add.1 IP/Q4/NGA/1/Add.1 
17 September 2004 
 
 
(04-3926) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION 
 
NIGERIA 
 
Addendum
 
  
 The present document reproduces responses by the delegation of Nigeria to the questions put 
to it in the review of Nigeria's legislation at the Council's meeting of 5 to 7 March 2002.
1 
  
_______________ 
  
 
I. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY SWITZERLAND 
A. T
RADEMARKS  
Follow-up to question 1:  
Please indicate whether your law provides that the registration of a trademark shall be 
renewable indefinitely, as required by Article 18 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 A trademark is indefinitely renewable su bject to the payment of a prescribed fee. 
 B. P
ATENTS  
3. Does your legislation, in accordance with Ar ticle 27.1 in combination with Article 31 of 
the TRIPS Agreement, consider importation as "working" a patent (and therefore preclude 
compulsory licensing, if a product is being imported)?     
 The legislation as notified provides that after th e expiration of a period of four years after the 
filing of a patent application or three years after the grant of a patent, which ever period last expires, a 
person may apply to the court for the grant of a co mpulsory licence if the working of the patented 
invention in Nigeria is being hindered or prevente d by the importation of the patented article. The 
reference to the working of a patented invention shou ld be read in conjunction with Paragraph 14 of 
the First Schedule to the Patents and Designs Act.  
 
                                                      
1 The minutes of this meeting have been circulated as document IP/C/M/35. IP/Q/NGA/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/NGA/1/Add.1,  
IP/Q3/NGA/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/NGA/1/Add.1 Page 2 
 
 
 Follow-up to question 5:
 
  In your answer you mention that " a law imposes upon any person the burden of proving a 
particular fact ".  Please indicate whether this particul ar rule is also applied in the case of 
process patent litigations or whether your law pr ovides for this particular case, according to 
Article 34 of the TRIPS Agreement, the principle of the reversal of burden of proof?  
 In our response to the initial question on the reve rsal of burden of proof, we stated that the 
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provi des that every person who is charged with an 
offence shall be presumed to be innocent until pr oved guilty.  Actually, Article 34 of the TRIPS 
Agreement and the Nigerian Constitution are entirely compatible.  It is clear that all different 
situations covered by Article 34 do require that the patent owner first provides for some proof and that 
it is only when the court is satisfied that such pr oof has been provided that it may order the defendant 
to produce evidence that counters the plaintiff's a llegations.  Even though the constitution and the law 
of Nigeria are consistent with the provisions of Article 34 of the TRIPS Agreement, the authorities of 
Nigeria are considering introducing language in the le gislation in order to make the consistency much 
clearer.    C. P
ROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION  
6. Please explain in detail if your legislation ensures that undisclosed test or data submitted 
by an applicant to the responsible State agency in  the procedure for market authorisation of a 
pharmaceutical or of an agricultural chemical  product is protected against disclosure and 
against unfair commercial use by a competitor, for example by prohibiting a second applicant from relying on, or from referring to the original  data of the first applicant, when applying 
subsequently for market authorisation for a si milar product. Does your legislation provide for 
exceptions to this? If yes, under what condi tions would such exceptions apply? Does your 
legislation set for a specific term of protection for undisclosed test or other data of the first 
applicant?         
Nigeria's legislation ensures that undisclosed test  or data submitted by an applicant for market 
authorisation of a pharmaceutical product is prot ected against disclosure and unfair commercial use 
by a competitor.  The legislation also provid es for exceptions under the following conditions: 
(a) When there is a court proceeding under the law. 
(b) When the applicant authorises that  the information can be released. 
(c) When the agency is compelled to released such information (e.g. by the Honourable 
Minister) 
Regarding whether Nigeria's legislation sets a specific term of protection for undisclosed 
information test or data of the first applicant, there is no statute of limitation. 
   IP/Q/NGA/1/Add.1, IP/Q2/NGA/1/Add.1,  
 IP/Q3/NGA/1/Add.1, IP/Q4/NGA/1/Add.1  Page 3 
 
 
 II. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY THE UNITED STATES 
L. S
TATISTICAL QUESTIONS  
33. Please provide statistical information related  to civil copyright, trademark, geographical 
indications, industrial designs, patents, inte grated circuit layouts-designs and trade secret 
enforcement for 2000, including the number of cases filed; injunctions issued; infringing 
products seized; infringing equipment seized; cases resolved (including settlement); and the 
amount damages awarded. 
The statistical information requested is not available. 
34. Please provide statistical information relat ed to criminal enforcement in the area of 
copyright piracy and trademark infringement  for 2000, including the number of raids, 
prosecutions, convictions and the amount of fine s and/or jail terms (including whether the fines 
were paid and whether the jail term was actu ally served or was suspended) and any other 
information establishing that the criminal system operates effectively to deter copyright piracy 
and trademark counterfeiting. 
 The statistical information requested is not available.  
 
__________