PRESS RELEASES

Press Release: Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property - U.S. Mission Organizes Training Course for Nigerian Officials

April 9, 2009

Lagos, April 9, 2009 – The U.S. Mission in Nigeria, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and with support from the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) conducted a three-day training course April 7-9 on Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property at the Border. The training focused on health and safety aspects of intellectual property enforcement.

Over eighty officials from the NCS, SON, National Police, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in addition to private sector investigators, participated in the Lagos-based activities.  Training focused on practical issues related to the dangers of counterfeit health and safety products, detection of counterfeit shipments, and seizure and investigation of illegal goods.  The workshop emphasized the importance of a coordinated inter-agency approach to combat copyright infringement and enhance law enforcement.  The practical seminar also included a field visit to the Apapa port.

This training builds on previous programs that the United States has organized on intellectual property (IP) enforcement in Nigeria, including a January 2008 seminar on intellectual property with Nigerian judges, a June 2008 workshop on trademark policy and enforcement of intellectual property rights, and an August 2008 conference on optical disc enforcement.
 
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria will continue to cooperate with Nigeria on copyright enforcement and will plan additional intellectual property rights training courses based on this successful training event and mutual interest in advancing the protection of intellectual property rights.

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