IMPACT OF EMERGING TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The advent of digital technologies has indeed changed the world and affected many areas of today's reality and among them is Intellectual Property. In the time of digital technology, it has become possible to produce and disseminate copies of copyrighted works with a mouse click. This has increased the number of copyright violations as well as made the enforcement of Intellectual Property rights more complex. Trademark owners now have to secure web-monitoring for potential trademark infringement in domain names and on internet websites to keep track on availability of new domain zones and fight cyber squatting. High tech developers do not have it easy as to mitigate a risk of accidentally infringing patent rights, companies (especially software developers) are forced to acquire rights to defensive patents as well as spend time, efforts and financial resources on fighting patent trolling. In this article, we are going to look at the emerging trends in technology on Intellectual Property Rights in Nigeria.