The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has said it offers intellectual property protection of grassroots inventions under its various projects.

The NOTAP’s DG/CEO, Obiageli Amadiobi, said this on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ms Amadiobi said the agency had various projects that accommodated indigenous innovators and inventors to give them platforms to thrive.

She said under these projects, indigenous inventions were evaluated for their potential to be outsourced or adopted by large-scale industries.

”One such project is under NOVA called Project NOVA (NOTAP Value Acceleration); under this programme, NOTAP officials form local hubs across the country where grassroots inventions are evaluated for their potential.

”If such innovations or inventions are viable enough, they can be outsourced or adopted by large-scale industries, such as the telecommunications sector,” she said.

The director general also said that while the halls of academia were vital to national progress, NOTAP recognised that a true “intellectual revolution” must reach the streets, markets, and local workshops of Nigeria.

She said innovation was not confined to laboratories, as it also thrives in the minds of independent entrepreneurs and local artisans who are often far removed from formal research institutions.

She also said that the impact of the inclusivity was measurable, as the organisation also catered to innovators outside academia by funding patent applications for independent inventors, ensuring that financial barriers do not stifle creativity.

According to her, another medium through which indigenous inventors are captured is the Inventors & Innovators Forum.

”Through this, NOTAP has created a dedicated bridge for these independent “street-smart” geniuses to access the same high-level legal protection as university professors,’’ she said.

The NOTAP boss added that by providing a platform where individual inventors can gather, collaborate, and learn the technicalities of intellectual property (IP), the organisation ensured that no brilliant Nigerian idea was lost to theft or neglect.

According to her, the organisation’s aim is to reduce foreign dependence by patenting original local inventions from the forum.

She further said that the role of IP-certified evaluators was also critical in helping to cater to the local innovators.

”These independent innovations are vetted by the same rigorous IP-certified evaluators used for institutional research, ensuring that a local invention meets global standards.

”By fostering this ecosystem, NOTAP is proving that you don’t need a PhD to be a patent holder, whether it is a new application from a young coder in a Lagos hub or a mechanical improvement from a workshop in Aba,’’ she said.

(NAN)