Dr Titilayo Adebola delivered a speech titled “Geographical Indication in the Era of the AfCFTA” during the National Conference on Creating Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Geographical Indications in Nigeria that held on 17 and 18 February 2022. In her speech, Dr Adebola asserted that geographical indication regimes in Africa will thrive through the promotion of inclusive, sustainable and effective (ISE) systems. She presented the following five Cs towards realising ISE systems: (i) Centring African Needs and Interests. (ii) Constructing Contextually Appropriate Legal and Non-Legal Frameworks. (iii) Coordinating the Fragmented Regimes in Africa. (iv) Coherent Value Creation and Retention. (v) Creative Capacity Building and Training.
The conference was hosted by the European Union, along with the Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Africa project, the Nigerian Trade Mark Registry under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Africa International Trade and Commerce Research organisation. The tripartite objectives of the conference were to review existing laws on the protection of geographical indications, drive the process of establishing a sui generis system for geographical indications in Nigeria, and recommend ways forward for Nigeria. The high-level conference brought together representatives of the Presidency, Legislators, Ministries, Departments and Agencies and Policy Influencers.
