Nigeria - Register a Trademark

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Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. To apply for registering a Trademark in person, an application in this regard should be lodged at the Trademarks, Patents and Designs Registry of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investments.
2. Firstly, consult a local Attorney/Agent in Nigeria, who would file and process applications at the Nigerian Registry of Trade Marks, Patents, Designs and Copyright.
3. The address and contact details of the Trademarks, Patents and Designs Registry can be found in the following link:Link
4. You will have to complete a Power of Attorney/Authorization of Agent Form in favour of such Agent to act on your behalf in application process.
5. Along with the above mentioned form, all the documents listed in the “required documents” section of this page should also be provided to the agent.
6. He/she will take care of the submission of the application with the documents and the prescribed payment process.
7. After filing the application for trade mark registration, the Registrar issues an official acknowledgement reflecting the official number and filing date of the application.
8. Then, a search will be conducted on the existing and pending registrations to find if the proposed trademark replicates any previously registered trademarks and pending applications.
9. If the Registrar finds the trademark acceptable for registration, the applicant will be furnished with a letter/notice of acceptance.
10. On receipt of the Acceptance letter, the notice of trademark registration must be published in the Nigerian Trademark Journal, which is open to opposition for a period of two months from the date of advertisement.
11. If no objections are received within the specified period or no objections are sustained, the Registrar will issue the applicant with a certificate of registration.
    

Apply Online

1. To apply for a Trademark online, the applicant has to visit the online portal of IPO Nigeria by clicking the following link:Link
2. Visit the link and click “Login” button on the top right corner, then enter the user details in the applicable fields and click “Login” button to proceed.
3. Else, make a new registration by clicking the “Register” button. Registration page will be opened, enter all the details asked, check the ‘Terms & Conditions’ box and click “Register” button.
4. An activation email will be sent to the applicant’s email address. Click on the activation link, it will direct you to the login page where you can enter the login details sent to you through email and login by clicking “Login” button.
5. In the first login attempt, the applicant will have to provide the personal information in the relevant fields, upload a profile picture by clicking “Choose file” button and click “submit” button.
6. After that, proceed to complete the application form by locating the option to file an application. Click on it and fill the form with all the required details.
7. Also, upload all the required documents by clicking the applicable buttons and following the directions available.
8. Make the payment as applicable by using the available options. Once completed with all the processes, submit the application by clicking ‘Submit’ button.
9. After payment, Applicants will automatically get their Electronic acknowledgement notice using which you can track your applications online using the application ID provided on your Acknowledgment letter.
10. Then, a search will be conducted on the existing and pending registrations to find if the proposed trademark replicates any previously registered trademarks and pending applications.
11. If the Registrar finds the trademark acceptable for registration, the applicant will be furnished with a letter/notice of acceptance.
12. On receipt of the Acceptance letter, the notice of trademark registration must be published in the Nigerian Trademark Journal, which is open to opposition for a period of two months from the date of advertisement.
13. If no objections are received within the specified period or no objections are sustained, the Registrar will issue the applicant with a certificate of registration.
14. The progress of the application can be checked with the office where the application has been made.

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Required Documents

• Registrant’s proof of Identification
• Proof of Residence
• Representation of Trademark (120*100 pixels)
• List of goods covered or proposed
• Power of Attorney/Authorization of Agent
• Proof of payment

Office Locations & Contacts

Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment - HQ
Old Secretariat, Area 1 Garki, Abuja
FCT, Nigeria.
Phone: (234) 803 334 8806
Email: [email protected]
Website: Link

Eligibility

• Any business owner in Nigeria, who wishes to use a unique representation for his/her goods as per his/her wish, can apply.
• The applicant must have a proper proof of Identification.
• The foreign owners can make application through a local agent by declaring a power of attorney.

Fees

• Please approach the authorities.
  

Validity

• The Certificate which is issued initially is valid for a period of 7 years.
  
• The period of protection varies, but a trademark can be renewed indefinitely beyond the time limit on payment of additional fees.
  

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
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Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
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sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.gIn the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• When issued, the Registration Certificate will reflect the date of initial filing as date of registration (i.e. date of filing acknowledgement).

• A Power of Attorney should be simply signed, with full particulars of name(s), address (es) and nationality of the applicant(s). Full name(s) and capacity of the signatory should also be present when applicant is a firm/company.
• A separate application is filed for each classification of goods for which the trade mark is to be registered.

Required Information

• Applicant’s full name
• Nationality and Physical address
• List of goods
• Attorney’s name(s) and address (es)
• Nationality
• Full name(s) and capacity
• Identification document number
• Payment receipt number
• Banking particulars

Need for the Document

• It is important to register your commercial Trademarks with the Trademarks, Patents and Designs Registry of the Trade and InvestmentMinistry to get exclusive rights to use that particular trademark and prevent others from using it.
  

Information which might help

• A trademark may be registered either plainly (black and white) or in colour. However, where a trademark is registered in colour, the protection afforded the Mark is limited to the colour(s) registered.
• On the other hand, a plain (viz. black and white) registration affords protection to all colours of presentation of the trade mark.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

• process description
  

Others

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