Nigeria Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in nigeria, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Protecting Intellectual Property
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Nigeria’s 2022 Copyright Act improved the regulations around copyrighted works but enforcement of this law and other intellectual property rights laws remains poor. While customs and law enforcement officials occasionally act on IPR issues the amount of enforcement is not commensurate with the scale of the IPR violations. CcIn Nigeria, localization policies (in the form of local content requirements) protect and favor local companies at the expense of foreign firms and investors. The 2019 Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in Information and Communications Technology require local production or utilization of Nigerian materials and labor across a broad range of information communications technology (ICT) goods and services.

In any foreign market, U.S. companies should consider several general principles for effective protection of their intellectual property. The U.S. Department of Commerce has positioned IP Attachés in key markets around the world.  You can contact the IP Attaché for Africa: Katherine Hiner – Katherine.Hiner@trade.gov

For additional information, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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