TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria is a blessed nation comprising of several ethnic groups, societies, traditions, cultures, beliefs and way of life. They are usually passed down from one generation to another. These distinct traditions and cultures possess traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions that if adequately protected and harnessed, can be of economic benefits to these societies. Thus, the need to have these traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions protected by intellectual property rights, from piracy. Thus, in this work we shall consider the roles Intellectual Property play in the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions from misappropriation and in generating and equitably sharing benefits from their commercialization.