Igelige to be honoured as entertainment lawyer of the year 2019

Preparation is at the complete stage, as the second edition of the Intellectual Property Law Award with the ‘Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights to Protect Innovators and Creators in Nigeria’ is scheduled to hold next month at the University of Abuja, FCT Abuja.

Organised by Prestige Anchor International, a non-governmental organisation, the awards celebrates and rewards lawyers, advocates, firms and individuals who have done well in promoting intellectual property law in Nigeria.

The first edition, which was dubbed limelight edition and held at the University of Benin, Benin City, last year, brought together intellectual property shakers, innovators, creators and law students. Nine awards were presented with the inauguration of the premiere Intellectual Property Law Club at the host university.

This year’s event will see selected lawyers, law firms, advocates, innovators, and creators decorated with awards. Among the awardees is the University of Westminster, London trained lawyer, Barrister Rockson Akpotiri Igelige, as Entertainment Law Lawyer of the Year 2019.

His recognition is a sequel to his giant exploits in promoting entertainment law advocacy through the non-governmental organisation he co-founded and named ‘Friends of the Creators Artistic Foundation’. This is besides his series of litigations on intellectual property matters that have changed the attitude of litigants towards IP matters in Nigeria.

Reacting to his nomination, Igelige said: “I feel delighted and honored. And it also goes to show that my little contributions toward intellectual property development in Nigeria are gradually being noticed and recognised one way or the other. No doubt, this award will be a morale booster to make me work harder to justify the essence of the award.

“There are others still in the field making their impact and contributions like me too, but I think the organisers decided to decorate me so that I can work harder. That is my candid interpretation of this award. Without mincing words, I want to thank the entire Nigerian media for their wonderful role in my career, particularly The Guardian, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Vanguard, Daily Trust, and others too numerous to mention here,” he added.
 
He continued: “The implication of the award is that I will continue to work, work, and work so that I can maintain the standard that the award has placed on me.”