Benue State University, Makurdi

The Protection against Unfair Competition in the WTO/Trips agreement and the Paris Convention: Lessons for Nigeria

Kasim Musa Waziri* and Akatiki Grace Dominic**

Abstract

Competition encourages innovation and economic growth. Competitors sometimes engage in dishonest commercial practices to gain unfair advantage over other competitors in the same field. Hence the need to regulate and protect competitors from such acts of competition which are contrary to honest practices, and also referred to as unfair competition. There is need for competition laws which seek to maintain competition to a certain degree by regulating, detecting and punishing anti-competitive practices. International instruments such as the Paris convention and WTO TRIPS Agreement are also used to control competition at the international level, with nations domesticating such laws. Under the Paris Convention, member states are obliged to provide protection against unfair competition. This obligation is reinforced by Article 2 of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that obliges members of World Trade Organization (WTO) to comply with the Paris Convention. In Nigeria, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCP) Act provides for protection against unfair competition. The objective of this paper is to analyze the protection against unfair protection as contained in Article 10bis of the Paris Convention, the obligation of the TRIPS Agreement in ensuring compliance with the Paris Convention in the WTO nations and its applicability in Nigeria. This research adopted the doctrinal method, hence its reliance on primary and secondary sources such as textbooks, journals and mostly online materials. This research found that despite the fact that most nations have domesticated the provisions of Art 10bis of the Paris convention, there are still a whole lot of acts of unfair competition going on and most legal frameworks dwell on civil liabilities alone instead of criminal penalties. In conclusion, stiffer penalties should be meted out to those who engage in unfair competition practices.

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