As part of the restructuring and institutional reforms in the education sector, the Federal Government, in 2006, approved the establishment of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in fifteen (15) selected major innovation-generating institutions in the country. In the following year, 2007 another eight (8) IPTTOs came on stream with the University of Benin significantly included. Consequently, with the establishment of IPTTOs in these institutions, Intellectual Property Management is being integrated into the University system under the auspices of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Abuja and in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva.

What is IPTTO

Intellectual Property Technology Transfer Office (IPTTO) is an institutional enabler structured to facilitate the utilization of Intellectual Property System in the University. IPTTO will enable the University to use IP System as a source of technology information, a source of generating wealth and income to support research activities. Promote interaction and strengthen closer links with industries/private entrepreneurs.

Administrative Structure:

•  Patent Information and Documentation Unit (IPDU) with focus on facilitating patent searches and patent information dissemination through Patent documents and network of information system that will link IPTTO with NOTAP’s database and WIPO on the Internet. Other functions include Pre-Application Searches (PAS), State-of-the-Art Searches, Novelty Searches and Technological Activity Searches.
• Intellectual Property Management Unit (IPMU) to provide services such as identification, evaluation and assessment of the novelty of the inventions/creations as well as filing of patent applications to obtain patent grants from industrial property office in Nigeria and abroad.
• Marketing Unit (MU): the commercial side of IPR management, i.e. the licensing operations and the acquisitions of R & D contracts, consultancy agreements and joint venture participants, are management services and issues this unit is responsible for. The MU in addition to finding markets for potential IPRs, will also be responsible for negotiation and drafting of technology transfer agreements between the University and respective transferees, e.g. industries, government institutions, etc.