Do foreign brands need to trademark their brands in Nigeria?
A trademark represents a company or brand once it is legally registered. Trademarks are unique identifiers that can differentiate companies or brands from one another.
A trademark can be a symbol, logo, word or words that represent the image of a company or brand. The importance of trademark is that it protects the identity of the business and takes priority according to who registers it first.
A registered trademark lasts for seven years in Nigeria and can be renewed from time to time.
A trademark can be registered by both Nigerian brands and foreign brands in Nigeria.
A foreign brand in Nigeria needs to register its brand in Nigeria within six (6) months of registration in the home country. The effective date of registration in Nigeria based on the claim of foreign priority will be the date of initial registration in the home country.
The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, no information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or professional advice from the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer. This post is protected by intellectual property law and regulations. It may however be shared using appropriate sharing tools provided that our authorship is always acknowledged and this Disclaimer Notice attached