First Schedule
Compulsory Licences and use of patents for service of government agencies
Part I
Compulsory Licences
1. Subject to this Part, at any time after the expiration of a period of four years after the filing of a patent
application or three years after the grant of a patent, whichever period last expires, a person may apply to the
Court for the grant of a compulsory licence on one or more of the following grounds(a) that the patented invention, being capable of being worked in Nigeria, has not been so worked;
(b) that the existing degree of. working, of the patented invention in Nigeria does not meet on reasonable
terms the demand for the product;
(c) that the working of the patented invention in Nigeria is being hindered or prevented by the
importation of the patented article; and
(d) that, by reason of the refusal of the patentee to grant licences on reasonable terms, the establishment
or development of industrial or commercial activities in Nigeria is unfairly and substantially
prejudiced.
2. If an invention protected by a patent in Nigeria cannot be worked without infringing rights derived from a
patent granted on an earlier application or benefiting from an earlier foreign priority, a compulsory licence may
be granted to the patentee of the later patent to the extent necessary for the working of his invention if the
invention(a) Serves industrial purposes different from those served by the it, invention which is the subject of the
earlier patent; or
(b) constitutes substantial technical progress in relation to that last mentioned invention.
3. If the two inventions mentioned in paragraph 2 of this Schedule serve the same industrial purposes, a
compulsory licence may be granted under that paragraph only on condition that a compulsory licence shall also
be granted in respect of the later patent to the patentee of the earlier patent, if he so requests.
4. A compulsory licence shall not be granted in respect of a patent if the patentee satisfies the court that his
actions in relation to the patented invention are justifiable in the circumstances, but he shall not be held to have
so satisfied the court if he merely shows that the patented article is freely available for importation.
5. A compulsory licence shall not be granted unless the applicant(a) satisfies the court that he has asked the patentee for a contractual licence but has been unable to
obtain such a license on reasonable terms and within a reasonable time; and
(b) offers guarantees satisfactory to the court to work the relevant invention sufficiently to remedy the
deficiencies (or to satisfy the requirements) which gave rise to his application.
6. A compulsory license(a) entitles the licensee to do any act mentioned in section 6 of this Act except importation;
(b) does not entitle the licensee to grant further licences;
(c) Shall be non-exclusive, and
(d) may contain additional obligations and restrictions as regards both the licensee and the patentee.
7. A compulsory licence may be transferred only with the industrial undertaking in which the relevant invention
is used, and no such transfer shall be valid until the consent of the court has been obtained.