Geographical indications and cultural artworks in Nigeria: A cue from other jurisdictions

• Published date: 01 November 2019
• Author: Ayoyemi Lawal‐Arowolo
• Date: 01 November 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jwip.12128

© 2019 The Authors. The Journal of World Intellectual Property © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

J World Intellect Prop. 2019;22:364–374.364

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jwip

Received: 12 April 2019

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Accepted: 12 June 2019

DOI: 10.1111/jwip.12128

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Geographical indications and cultural artworks

in Nigeria: A cue from other jurisdictions

Ayoyemi Lawal‐Arowolo

Commercial and Private Law Department,

S‐TEE High School, Lagos, Nigeria

Correspondence

Ayoyemi Lawal‐Arowolo, Commercial and

Private Law Department, S‐TEE High School,

Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria.

Email: arowoloa@babcock.edu.ng

Developing countries benefit from the registration of geo-

graphical indications (GIs) in the agricultural and artisan

sectors. The extension of GIs to the artisan sector serves as

a best practice to Nigeria. Nigeria has many indigenous

forms of cultural artworks that are influenced by the

environment. Artworks from places like Benin and other

regions in Nigeria are location specific. This paper explores

generally the utilization of GIs to protect cultural artworks

and the monetary and nonmonetary benefits of such works.

The trend of registering GIs to protect culture, arts, and

traditional knowledge is crucial to the economic growth of

Nigeria otherwise it deprives those dependent on the

creation of cultural artworks of a means to benefit from

their hard work by a process known to them for decades.

KEYWORDS

artworks, Benin, culture, EU, geographical indications, Nigeria

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INTRODUCTION

Nigeria has abundant indigenous products (derived from biological and cultural resources) that can benefit from the

kind of protection offered by geographical indications (GIs).

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GIs are indicative of location and recognize collective

rights, as well as the connection between a product and the place of production (Bentley & Sherman, 2014,

p. 1111). Both are common features in indigenous groups or communities and are applicable to agricultural

products as well as other indigenous products (Appiah, 2011, p. 3). In Nigeria, these products include but are not

limited to: (a) Food and beverages: ofada rice, palm wine, Kilishi, cocoa/coffee beans, cassava products, such as

“garri,”(b) textiles: adire and ofi amongst others, and (c) artworks: carvings, pottery, sculpture, metal works, and

paintings which is the focus of this paper.

Discussions on art in Nigeria are often treated as part of a larger study on African arts and culture. However,

Nigeria possesses traditional art forms and styles even though it shares with the rest of Africa a heritage

with distinct characteristics in existence for centuries (Okoloague, 2012). The earliest forms of artworks are the

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