An examination of Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the provisions on patentable subject matter under the PDA in Nigeria

Abstract

Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement remains the most controversial provision of the TRIPS Agreement. This provision on patentable subject matter stipulates what is permissible under patent law. This article evaluates the Patent and Designs Act by considering the extent of compliance of the Act as provided by the TRIPS Agreement. To this end, the paper proceeds in four parts excluding the introduction. In the first section, it situates the discussion within the general framework of Patent and Designs Act. The next section, turns to an examination of the compliancy of the law. Finally, in the fourth and fifth sections, it analyses the modifications necessary against the back-drop of the examination carried out in the previous section. In the concluding section, a summary of the compliance of the law in relation to the TRIPS Agreement is provided.