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Minister tasks inventors on patent rights for products

By Abosede Musari, Abuja
03 October 2016   |   1:44 am
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has urged inventors in the technology sector to obtain patent rights for their products.The minister gave the charge in Abuja at the weekend at a sensitisation workshop....
Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu

Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has urged inventors in the technology sector to obtain patent rights for their products.The minister gave the charge in Abuja at the weekend at a sensitisation workshop and presentation of patent certificates to some inventors.

According to him, the rights are necessary before proceeding to the commercialisation stage, which has the advantage of attracting investors to the rights owner.

He added that government was committed to using the application of science and technology to diversify the economy in a competitive and sustainable manner.

The minister said: “We want to make sure that our inventors protect their intellectual property, so that they can make money out of it. That is what would attract more people to go into invention. If Bill Gates could be the richest man in the world through invention, then we need people like Bill Gates in Nigeria.

“The missing link in our development is science and technology. If we put enough energy into it, we would not depend on other countries and if we can meet our needs locally, the nation’s economy would be strengthened.”

Onu disclosed that there are many research findings that are awaiting commercialisation.He cited the High Density Nutrient Biscuit (HDNB), which was produced by NASCO and has been taken to East Africa to undergo the process of getting a patent right.The HDNB is an invention from the Federal Institute of industrial Research (FIIRO), Oshodi, which is an agency of the ministry.

The Director General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) Dr Danlami Ibrahim said at the forum that if innovations are not protected, investors would not be attracted to translate them into products and services.

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