Two Nigerian lawyers among 156 leading global copyright lawyers
By Paul Michael
A global research platform based in London, the Who’s Who Legal (WWL) has identified two Nigerian lawyers, Ogaga Ifowodo and Rockson Igelige, both of Remedium Law Partners among its 2022 leading copyright lawyers in the world.
WWL, having identified 156 copyright lawyers in this year’s ‘Global Elite Thought Leaders’, said that the lawyers, were selected based on their outstanding experience in advising domestic and international clients on contentious and non-contentious copyright issues.
Ifowodo and Igelige, who are the only lawyers that made the list in Nigeria and the African continent, were selected among other leading lawyers from 29 other countries of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the USA.
According to an official publication by the WWL, “The Global Elite Thought Leaders are those individuals who received the highest number of nominations from peers, corporate counsel, and other market sources this year. Our research has identified them as truly outstanding practitioners and the very best in their field.”
While announcing Ifowodo and Igelige among this year’s 156 Global Elite Thought Leaders, WWL stated, “Remedium’s Ogaga Ifowodo is a highly regarded practitioner with impeccable knowledge of IP rights, particularly when it comes to entertainment and sports law.
“Rockson Igelige is a leading IP lawyer who is regularly sought after by clients in the entertainment industry for his stellar practice.”
Reacting to his enlistment, Ifowodo said he is delighted not only for himself but also for his brother and partner, Igelige.
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“We started the journey of an intellectual property rights practice together and I suppose it is only just right that we were recognised together. We have also been each other’s indispensable partner in the public advocacy for IPR, especially through Friends of the Creator Artistic Foundation (FCF) which we co-founded and serve as chairman and executive secretary respectively. FCF has observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO),” he added.
He further stated that the listing by WWL came almost as icing on the cake of their recent “hard-fought victory for another up-and-coming musician, Liberty Williams, aka Pupayannis, whose song was sold without authorisation by MTN as a caller and ring-back tune.”
According to him, intellectual property rights is a new area of law and practice but a very crucial aspect of our world now more than ever before one driven by the wisdom of the old adage, ‘Knowledge is power.’
“The 21st Century economy will be powered by knowledge more than previous centuries ever were and the work of the intellect, of the mind, will be even more prominent. We are happy to be among those blazing a trail in the slow effort of the legal profession in Nigeria to catch up with this reality,” he added.
On his part, Igelige said “this goes to show that we are doing something right in the eyes of reasonable people. We are only fulfilling the letters of the law. We are not here to change them but to fulfil them. We have worked so hard to see that damages that used to be peanuts are up.
“In Onyeka Onwenu’s s case, the court awarded in her favour N500,000 after 5 years or more in the court. But the last case we handled, the court awarded N20 million against MTN and Co.
“In Baba 2010 case, we secured N50 million for him. So you can see that we are raising the bar in matters relating to damages in intellectual property rights in Nigeria.”
Remedium Law Partners is a dynamic law firm consisting of members of a team that came together in 2015 under the practice name of ‘Felix, Igelige & Associates’ to work on a landmark intellectual property rights case, Dovie Okson Omenuwoma (aka Baba 2010) v MTN with Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/895/15).
In the said case, which became one of the cases that shaped the Nigerian legal system, the multi-national communication giant opted for an ‘out of court settlement’ with N50 million and an ambassadorial deal offered to Baba 2010.
Just recently, the Remedium lega firm won a case against MTN Nigeria after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the Communication Company to pay an Abuja-based musician, Liberty Williams, N20 million over copyright violation.
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