Intellectual Property Services in Nigeria

Why Does a Business Need Intellectual Property Services?

Intellectual property (IP) services play a very important role as they safeguard one’s assets from being copied. It takes a lot of hard work and effort to come up with a unique idea and make something creative out of it, and who wouldn’t want to claim their piece of work as their property? Holding an IP right gives a person/company the power to prevent the copying or duplication of an original creative work, and penalize anyone who violates or infringes this right. In this way, one always has one’s property solely to one’s name and can thus protect their invention from getting plagiarized.

Intellectual Property Rights in Nigeria

Following is a brief description of the various types of intellectual property in Nigeria which can be protected under the Intellectual Property Protection Law.

1. Copyright

Copyright is the law which protects one’s piece of creativity or work. These works may be books, software, musical compositions, plays, photographs, drawings, paintings, sculptures, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and cable programmes. Work materials available on the internet are also subject to copyright. The Nigerian Copyright Commission, an agency of the federal government under the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Industry, is the regulatory body for the copyright protection and administration in Nigeria. This commission registers the copyrights upon notification from the owner under the copyright notification scheme. The protection period of copyright in Nigeria is as below:

2. Trademark

A trademark is a seal, sign, symbol or logo which differentiates the goods or services of one trader from those of others. In Nigeria, the registration of trademark protection is done under the Registrar of Trademarks. Once a trademark is registered, it can be protected for a period of 7 years from the registration date and can be further renewed time to time according to the provision of the law.

3. Patent

Patents are the type of intellectual property which protect technical innovations. In Nigeria, The Patent Act 1970, which is now designated as Cap P2, LFN 2004, governs the registration and practice of patent. Once the patent is registered, it can be protected for a period of 20 years from the date of filling. Furthermore, on registration, any patent owner has the exclusive right to create, use, import or put their invention on the market and also possesses the power to take legal action if anyone uses their patent without their consent.

4. Industrial Design

An Industrial Design, according to the Patent and Designs Act, is basically a type of intellectual property which protects the outward appearance such as shape, configuration, pattern, or special design which has been applied to the product through an industrial process. On registration, an industrial design can be protected for a period of 5 years from the date of application and can be further renewed for two consecutive durations of 5 years each.

Treaties with International Bodies

Nigeria is a part of the following treaties, enjoying the privilege of a firm standing of its intellectual properties on a global scale:

• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaties
• WIPO Convention
• Paris Convention (Industrial Property)
• Berne Convention (Literary and Artistic Works)
• Patent Co-operation Treaty (1970)
• Patent Law Treaty (PLT)
• Rome Convention (Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations)
• World Trade Organization (WTO), Member, and Signatory to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
• Member of the Universal Convention on Copyright (UCC)

Our Intellectual Property Services in Nigeria

• Registering trademarks, patents, and copyrights
• Anti-counterfeiting and implementing the intellectual property rights
• Intellectual property licensing service
• Resolving any intellectual property disputes
• Litigating in case of infringement of IP rights
• Assuring IP protection overseas
• Brand valuation

Why Us?

Business Setup Worldwide is a platform that offers a broad spectrum of services related to company expansion and business setup in foreign lands. We assist in clearing all the legal proceedings that are essential to establish business foundations, protect intellectual properties, taxation policies, etc. Our business experts take care of the necessities and build the framework to provide the intellectual property services. Apart from dealing with the legal aspects, our business experts also handle the financial facets required to establish a business.