NIGERIA LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Chinyerugo Ugoji, Tiwalola Osazuwa, Rebecca Ebokpo, Jibrin Dasun, Peretimi Akinmodun, Onyinyechi Chima and Princess Otah, ǼLEX
A patent gives the patentee the exclusive right to exploit their invention. The patentee’s rights under a patent, however, extend only to acts done for industrial or commercial purposes. A patentee whose rights have been infringed may institute a civil action against the infringer and claim reliefs such as damages, an injunction and an account of profits. 7.2 Trade Marks A trade mark is any sign or combination of signs used to distinguish the goods and/or services offered by one undertaking from those offered by another. It may consist of words, logos, symbols, designs, letters, numerals or a combination of these, and it serves as an indicator of the com - mercial origin of goods or services. Marks that are deceptive, scandalous, generic or descriptive, or that bear geographical names in their ordinary signification, cannot be registered as trade marks in Nigeria, nor can marks that are the commonly used and accepted names of chemical substances. For a mark to enjoy statutory protection, it must be registered in Nigeria. Under the Trade Marks Act Cap T13, LFN 2004, an application to reg - ister a trade mark must be submitted to the Registrar of Trade Marks and must contain the specification of goods or services in relation to which the trade mark is to be used. The Registrar, on receipt of an application, will issue a letter of acknowledgement containing all relevant filing details of the trade mark applica - tion (eg, temporary number, date of application, the trade mark). The Registrar thereafter exam - ines the trade mark for distinctiveness, similarity with existing registered trade marks and general compliance with the requirements of the law.
Where the Registrar is satisfied, it will issue a Notification of Acceptance for the mark to be advertised in the Trademarks Journal for opposition purposes. Otherwise, the mark is refused and a Letter of Refusal is issued stating the reason(s) for the refusal. An applicant may appeal a refusal within two months, through its local agent; otherwise, the application will be deemed abandoned. When a trade mark is advertised in the Trade - marks Journal, any person may, within two months from the date of the publication, give notice to the Registrar of their opposition to the registration of the mark. Where no opposition is received at the expiration of the opposition period, or where the opposition is determined and resolved in favour of the applicant, the Reg - istrar will issue a certificate of registration upon payment of the prescribed fee. Currently, the registration process may take up to two years. A trade mark is registered for an initial period of seven years but can be renewed for further periods of 14 years. The registration of a person as the proprietor of a trade mark in respect of any goods or services gives that person the exclusive right to the use of that trade mark in relation to those goods or ser - vices. A proprietor whose trade mark rights have been infringed may institute a civil action against the infringer and claim reliefs such as damages, an injunction and an account of profits. In addi - tion to statutory protection, unregistered trade marks may also be protected under the common
law tort of passing off. 7.3 Industrial Design
An industrial design refers to any combination of lines or colours or both – and any three- dimensional form, whether or not associated
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