A Nigerian Court To Rule On A Patent Right Infringement Suit On 25/11/2014. --INEC Disobeyed Earlier Judgment In Favour Of BHL Over Patented Invention........... BHL Lawyer claimed. -- The Earlier Judgment BHL Relied Upon Is On Appeal.......... INEC Lawyer advocated A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed November 25 to deliver judgement in a suit seeking to void the voters register produced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in preparation for the 2015 general elections. The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/172/2014 filed by a firm, - Bedding Holdings Limited (BHL) - has as defendants, INEC, its Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). Plaintiffs lawyer, John Okoriko argued that INEC and its agents were in breach of sections 2, 3 (3), 19, 25 and 26 of the Patent and Designs Act and an earlier judgment of the court delivered on January 28, 2014 in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/816/2010 by conducting voters registration, using his clients patented process, without its prior consent. The court had, in the January 28 judgment, declared BHL as the owner of patent rights No: RP16642 and copyrights designs No: RD13841 over Electronic Collapsible Transparent Ballot Boxes (ECTBB), and patent rights No: RP NG/P/2010/202 - Proof of Address System/Scheme (PASS) - embedded with the concept of the coded mental plate - and their application for the process of producing voters register. BHL had, in the suit leading to the judgement, argued that INEC infringed on its patent rights by consistently utilising its patented inventions for the process of producing voters register, using the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines without its prior consent, an argument the court upheld. The court, in the judgment, awarded N17.3 billion damages against INEC, Jega and AGF for the infringement and ordered them to always seek prior consent of the patentee -BHL - before using the invention, failing which any act for which it is deployed would be rendered a nullity. The plaintiff stated in a supporting affidavit, that rather than first obtain its consent, as ordered in the January 28 judgment, the defendants proceeded to engage in voters registration for the last elections in Ekiti and Osun states and the 2015 general elections in breach of its rights. BHLs Chief Executive Officer, Chief Sylvester Odigie stated, in the supporting affidavit, that it has become a pattern with INEC and Jega to disregard court judgments. He cited a separate judgment given in his companys favour on the ownership of the patent right over the transparent ballot boxes being used for elections by INEC and which the electoral body has refused to obey. He urged the court to grant the prayers as contained in the suit as a way of protecting its its integrity, halting arbitrary conduct on the part of the defendants and in the interest of justice. BHL is seeking an order nullifying all voters register produced by INEC for the recent governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states and other future elections, using the plaintiffs patented process without its prior consent. It also seeks an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and their agents from further infringing on the its patented rights as confirmed in the January 28 judgment, by utilising the patented process for voters registration without first obtaining its consent. The plaintiff wants a declaration that by virtue of the provisions of sections 2, 3 (3), 19, 25 and 26 of the Patent and Designs Act, and the subsisting judgment of the court delivered on January 28, 2014 in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/816/2010, INEC cannot use its (plaintiffs) patented process for voters registration. It also seeks a declaration that the continuous voters registration exercise being carried out by INEC towards future elections, without seeking the plaintiffs prior consent is an infringement on itsbpatented rights as confirmed by the January 28, 2014 judgment. The defendants have denied infringing on the plaintiffs rights and violating any subsisting judgement. They urged the court to refuse the plaintiffs prayers and dismiss the suit. Arguing the counter-affidavit filed by INEC and Jega, their lawyer, Ebuka Nwaeze argued that the judgment on which the plaintiff relied in filing the suit was currently on appeal. INEC and Jega argued that issues raised in the suit have been litigated upon and are subject of appeal presently before the Court of Appeal. There is no statute, agreement or enforceable instruments by which the claimant (plaintiff) is entitled to be consulted, its consent obtained before using ballot boxes now being used at elections in Nigeria. They stated that the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, on March 17, 2014 granted them the right to use the patent being claimed by the claimant. INEC and Jega argued that the suit brought in bad faith is an attempt to harass and intimidate the commission. m.worldstag egroup/ readnews.php?&id =18275&active=n ews — with Udeme Effiangand 14 others.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 13:27:52 +0000
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