JURISDICTION OF COURT AND THE ENFORCEABILITY OF TRADE SECRETS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Trade secrets in Nigeria as an intellectual property (IP) has no specialized legislation, unlike other IPs, like trade mark, copyright, patents and designs. The lack of legislation on trade secrets has also beclouded the question of which Court has the jurisdiction to adjudicate over matters involving infringement of trade secrets. This research critically examined the jurisdiction of the Court with competence to enforce trade secrets to discover whether it is the Federal High Court that has the jurisdiction to enforce same, like other intellectual property rights (IPRs), or it is the State High Court. The methodology used in this research was the doctrinal research method, which involved a systematic analysis of the primary and secondary source materials, including statutes, decisions of courts, texts, journals and internet sources on the subject. The study found that although there is no single specialized legislation on trade secrets in Nigeria, it remains an enforceable IP. It was further revealed that it is the State High Court that has the jurisdiction to enforce trade secret as an IP in Nigeria. The study recommended, amongst others, the immediate enactment of a specialized legislation on trade secrets.