A Study of the Legal Framework for Intellectual Property Protection of Traditional Knowledge in South East Nigeria

Traditional knowledge, comprising medicinal practices, agricultural innovations, and cultural expressions of indigenous communities, is inadequately protected under Nigeria's existing intellectual property framework, leaving communities in South East Nigeria vulnerable to misappropriation by commercial interests. This study examines the extent to which the Patents and Designs Act, Copyright Act, and Trademarks Act protect traditional knowledge held by Igbo communities in Enugu and Anambra States. A qualitative doctrinal methodology supplemented by fieldwork interviews with 30 community elders, herbalists, and cultural custodians was adopted. The study also examines provisions under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, to which Nigeria is a signatory. Findings indicate that existing intellectual property laws were designed for individual innovation and do not accommodate the collective, intergenerational, and informal nature of traditional knowledge. There is no domestic sui generis legislation protecting traditional knowledge, creating a governance vacuum exploited by bioprospecting and commercial appropriation without community consent or benefit sharing. The study concludes that Nigeria urgently requires a Traditional Knowledge Protection Bill that incorporates free, prior, and informed consent requirements, community registers, and benefit-sharing frameworks consistent with the Nagoya Protocol. Recommendations include constituting a National Traditional Knowledge Task Force under the Nigerian Copyright Commission and establishing community intellectual property registers in each geopolitical zone.

Keywords: traditional knowledge, intellectual property, indigenous communities, Nagoya Protocol, South East Nigeria