The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) says it is taking its Intellectual Property (IP) regularization efforts to university researchers and innovators across the country.
The Director-General of NOTAP, Dr Obiageli Amadiobi, said this during an interview with reporters in Abuja on Monday.
She said the agency was determined to ensure that research outcomes moved from shelves to practical use for the benefit of society.
According to her, there are plans to extend the outreach to all segments of the nation’s higher education system.
“NOTAP has realized that the missing link was a formal bridge to the marketplace.
“To close this gap, NOTAP now has Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) and Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISCs) in 64 universities.
“We also work with a total of 249 institutions,” she said.
Amadiobi added that the initiative also extended to research-and-development (R&D)-oriented institutions.
She explained that the programme was part of NOTAP-led support initiatives aimed at building capacity, protecting intellectual property and connecting developers to market opportunities.
According to her, the IPTTO scheme was conceived to bridge the long-standing gap between research and industry.
“For decades, Nigeria’s academic landscape has been characterized by shelved results—brilliant research papers and prototypes gathering dust instead of driving the economy.
“Today, NOTAP is changing this narrative by building a robust framework to protect creators’ rights and turn home-grown ideas into market-ready solutions.
“The journey from concept to impact starts with understanding and securing IP rights, a step many local innovators often miss.
“Whether it is a literary work, a laboratory invention or a creative digital product, bringing an idea to life demands immense time, skill and dedication,” she said.
She warned that without IP protection, pirates could replicate other people’s work, patent it in their names and legally control it.
Amadiobi explained that the IPTTOs serve as directorates responsible for promoting and managing university intellectual property portfolios, including patents, copyrights, designs and trademarks.
She added that the offices also enhance the ease of technology transfer and localization across both science and non-science disciplines.
