WIPO AFRICAN REGIONAL OFFICES TO BE BASED IN NIGERIA AND ALGERIA

Two regional offices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will be established in Nigeria and Algeria in the 2016/17 biennium. After a successful intra-African election process at WIPO headquarters, Geneva on August 4, 2016, the two countries won the bids by 33 votes (Nigeria) and 29 votes (Algeria). The formal process will be completed in October 2016.

The decision to give priority to Africa by opening a regional office was taken at the Fifty-Fifth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO in October 2015. Nigeria is a WIPO member state and party to several WIPO treaties such as the Berne Convention and Rome Convention. It is also taking steps to ratify other recent relevant treaties to which it is a signatory. The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) made the request to WIPO on the Nigeria's behalf.

According to the NCC, "The success of Nigeria’s bid is not unconnected with its rising profile and fast growing culture-based and creative industries. Nigeria’s creative industries now constitute one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy, boasting of the largest film industry in Africa and the second largest in the world in terms of output (Nollywood). Nigerian music, film, literature and art resonates across Africa and around the world, facilitating a cumulative annual output of approximately $2billion across film, music, Performing Arts, Fashion, Visual Arts, Advertising, TV and Broadcast, Arts and Antique, and Publishing – the total of which contributes not less than 1.42% to the country’s GDP." 

As the specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), WIPO promotes innovation, creativity and protection of IP rights all over the world. Its headquarters is in Geneva Switzerland with a membership of 188 countries, WIPO maintains a headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland, and has five with five regional Offices in Russia, Japan, China, Philippines and Brazil. The establishment of external offices is aimed at bringing WIPO's services and cooperation closer to its member states and stakeholders in the IP industry. Therefore, the establishment of a WIPO office in Nigeria and Algeria will be beneficial to Africa's development, will provide better access to WIPO services and influence IP policy in African states.