NATIONAL OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION AND PROMOTION (NOTAP)
The National Office of Industrial Property Act was promulgated in 1979 with the stated objective inter alia of monitoring, on a continuous basis, the transfer of foreign technology to Nigeria. The administration of the Act was entrusted to the National Office of Industrial Property, which was recently re-named as the National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion (‘NOTAP”). NOTAP concerns itself with examining the quality of imported technology with a view to determining its price and to check fairly obvious abuses. In other words, the principal concern of NOTAP is to register contracts/agreements, which deal with the transfer and acquisition of foreign technology. The obligation to ensure that proper registration is effected, is both on the licensor and licencee of such technology.
The categories of contracts/agreements which qualify for registration and/or are registrable as involving the “transfer of foreign technology” are described as those contracts/agreements whose “purpose or intent is, in the opinion of the National Office, wholly or partially for or in connection with any of the following purposes, that is to say –
(i) the use of trademarks;
(ii) the right to use patented inventions.
(iii) the supply of technical expertise in the form of technical assistance of any description whatsoever;
(iv) the supply of detailed engineering drawings;
(v) the supply of machinery and plant; and
(vi) the provision of operating staff, managerial assistance and the training of personnel.”
In order to prevent abuse and to discourage patent monopolies and transfer of obsolete technology, the Director of NOTAP may refuse to register any contract/agreement in which in his opinion:
• “the price or other valuable consideration therein is not commensurate with the technology acquired or to be acquired”.
• “where provisions are included therein which permit the supplier to regulate or intervene directly or indirectly in the administration of any understanding belonging to the transferee of the technology and are, in his opinion, unnecessary for the due implementation or execution of such contract or agreement”.
OR
• “where the transferee is obliged to submit to foreign jurisdiction in any controversy arising for decision concerning the interpretation or enforcement in Nigeria of any such contract or agreement or any provisions thereof”.
