Trademark registration is very important for businesses as a form of business protection. There are different marks that you can register under the trademark laws of Nigeria. They include a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, or any combination of these marks.
In other words, you can register your brand, logo, images associated with a brand, or phrases. Names can also be trademarked or a colour that is attached to a product. For instance, a shoe with red soles can be trademarked as a shoe design.
If you would like to register your trademark in Nigeria or have any questions, please contact us and we would be glad to help you get started.
What Cannot be trademarked in Nigeria
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in Nigeria is responsible for the registration of trademarks in Nigeria. The ministry’s department responsible for trademark registration is the Trademarks, Patents and Designs Registry.
The law guiding trademark registration in Nigeria is the Nigerian Trademarks Act of 2004.
Under the law, you cannot register a trademark which is:
- Deceptive, scandalous or contrary to law or morality.
- A mark or name that contains prohibited words or symbols such as the names of chemical substances, the Coat of Arms, the words “patent” “patented”, “registered”, “registered design”, “copyright” or words to the like effect and so on.
You are also not allowed to register a trademark for any word or idea that is too generic, descriptive or too functional. For example, you cannot trademark “General food” or “Simple Technology” because it’s not distinctive enough.
But you can trademark creative words even if they are a combination of two generic words or a generic word and a non-generic word. An example of two generic words that can be trademarked is “Viruskiller” or “Smartshoes”. Because the words are joined together to form one word, they can easily pass as a distinctive mark. Another example is “SimpleT” or “TrueLa”. These are just examples to help you understand what can be trademarked and what cannot be. It is difficult to illustrate everything about trademark in this article.
Why is trademark registration important?
In some instances, trademark registration is very compulsory. For example, if you have to register a product with the National Agency For Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), you will be mandated to register a trademark.
A foreigner who also intends to import consumer products into Nigeria is required to register his trademark in order to enjoy protection. It does not matter if the trademark has been registered in another country because a trademark is country bases.
However, for others, trademark registration is important as a form of protecting your business innovation. If you have a business that you intend to build and protect, then registration of your trademark is important in order to avoid others from using your business image to sell their own products.
In Nigeria, trademark protection is on the basis of first to register.
How To Register A Trademark in Nigeria
A trademark can be registered by the trademark owner himself or through an agent unless he is a foreigner in which case he has to engage an agent.
There are forty-five (45) separate classes that you can register a trademark under. Once you identify the class your product belongs to, then you can take the steps towards registration.
Here are the steps on how to register a trademark in Nigeria.
Step 1.
Search
Before the application is commenced, the applicant would have to conduct a search in order to ascertain if the trademark to be registered is available.
Step 2
Application
After the search has been conducted, the applicant can proceed to submit an application for the registration of the trademark.
Step 3
Examination
The registrar of trademarks at this point would examine the trademark sought to be registered to ascertain if it is appropriate and does not conflict with any existing trademark or business. After the examination, the registrar if satisfied that the trademark is eligible to be registered, he would issue an acceptance form.
If however, the trademark is not eligible for registration, then a Refusal form would be issued.
Step 4
Publication
After the acceptance has been granted for the registration, the registrar would then publish the application in the Trademarks Journal to notify the public of the intention to register the trademark and call for the opposition if there be any. The publication would last between a period of 60 days.
If there is any opposition, then the opposition would be heard by the Registrar. After hearing the opposition, the registrar would give his final reply. His reply can be appealed at the Federal High Court.
Step 5
Registration
If on the other hand there is no opposition to the application, then the Registrar would go ahead and issue a certificate of registration of the trademark. The first registration is for a period of seven years and at the expiration of seven years, the applicant would be required to renew the registration for a period of fourteen years.
Each subsequent renewal lasts for fourteen years.
Duration of registration
The complete process of registration and certification of a trademark in Nigeria takes about 6 months. However, at the point of registration, you can go ahead and use your trademark for whatever purpose you wish to while waiting for the certificate to be issued.
Requirements for trademark registration in Nigeria
- Particulars of the applicant/ proprietor – including name and nationality
- Prints or a representation of the proposed trademark
- Class and specification of goods or services for which the trademark is to be registered.
- Authorization of Agent (Power of Attorney) signed by the applicant and where the applicant is a body corporate, by an officer duly authorized to do so. No legislation or notarization of the document is required.
