Section 31 Nigeria Startup Act
Section 31 Nigeria Startup Act 2022 is about Protection of intellectual property rights. It is under Part VIII (Collaboration with Regulators) of the Act.
(1) The Council acknowledges the importance of intellectual property rights towards the growth and development of a startup.
(2) As part of its objectives, the Secretariat shall ensure that holders of intellectual property rights are encouraged to exploit these rights and shall take steps towards assisting them in internationalising and commercialising their rights.
(3) The Secretariat shall collaborate with the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the Trademarks, Patent and Design Registries, in ensuring that they —
(a) designate a separate section on the Startup Portal to ease registration of intellectual property for labelled startups ;
(b) provide assistance to labelled startups for facilitating the application for grant or revocation of patents and institution of legal action for infringement of any intellectual property rights ; and
(c) facilitate assistance to labelled startups for the filing and registration of their trademarks and patents at the international level.
(4) The Secretariat shall further collaborate with the Nigerian Copyright Commission and the Trademarks, Patent and Design Registries to ensure that registration and protection of intellectual property of labelled startups is seamless, expedited and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
