Nigeria

Firm overview

At B&I, the Intellectual Property and Technology (IPTG) team works closely with clients to attain adequate and effective protection for their brands, intangible assets, concepts, business operating plans and information. Our expertise includes protection of client’s copyright, trademarks, patents and designs; product registration and regulatory compliance, anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy; information technology law, advertising law, media law, entertainment law and IP-focused Legal Advisory services.

We take pride in quickly and efficiently turning over work of the highest standard by leveraging on the disposition of our lawyers to be creative, innovative and analytical. We are respected for our well-rounded understanding and appreciation of the depth and breadth of Intellectual Property law matters. In addition, we appreciate the fine details of IP in practice, as applicable to our client’s respective industries. This enables us provide legal advice to our clients that is legally sound, practical and commercially expedient.

Several lawyers at the firm are active members of the International Trademark Association (INTA), the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property(AIPPI), Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group (PTMG) and the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys. In addition, the firm has a strong network of firms it currently collaborates with, providing services to numerous other Firms/ Agents all over the world, and in turn providing services to its vast number of clients in most African countries (e.g. Ghana, OAPI, ARIPO and others) through tested associates in those jurisdictions. Our active membership ensures we stay abreast of global best practices and developments in IP.

We have advised and worked on about 850 cases involving IP litigation, patent, trademark applications and renewals, oppositions, assignment, trademark infringement and copyright infringement within the last 12 months. In the realm of IP litigation, our engagement has involved dispute resolution centered on trade secret claims, false advertising, trademark infringement and intellectual property transfers.

We are equipped with FILEYE, a robust intellectual property management software, designed to our specification and needs. The software is networked across our department and two office locations and generates reminders at pre-set dates of all matters requiring action, among its many functionalities. This is made possible due to our highly effective internet system which enables us keep in touch with our clients and provide them with updates in real time.

Our team of 14 members made up of 3 partners, 1 Senior Associate, 6 Associates and 5 Paralegals boasts an aggregate experience of several decades in the IP sector.

Firm overview

Established in 1996, Jackson, Etti & Edu is a full-service law firm headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with an internationally renowned IP practice. With three offices in Nigeria and an office in Accra, Ghana – the hubs of business in West Africa – as well as an enviable network of top-rated associate agents across the continent, we are uniquely positioned to offer superior IP services throughout Africa.

Our IP practice offers services relating to all aspects of intellectual property, including trademarks, patents, designs, copyright, media and entertainment, anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, IP litigation, IP due diligence and commercial intellectual property (e.g, licensing, franchising and distributorship). We offer ancillary services including assisting clients with regulatory registrations with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion and other regulatory agencies. Our IP practice also offers advisory services to the federal government of Nigeria on IP policies and IP law reforms and provides regional perspectives on IP-related matters.

Our services are provided through a complement of experienced and seasoned practitioners who have distinguished themselves in this field for many years and have been recognised as experts and leaders in this specialist area of the law. Our lawyers possess impressive expertise and have been involved in some of the most high-profile IP transactions. They also hold leadership positions in local IP organisations. One of the partners is a World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) consultant and regularly offers advice on myriad IP-related issues.
Our clientele includes a broad spectrum of local and international blue-chip organisations, including major multinationals and conglomerates that trust us with the execution of specific business goals in the territories of interest.

The many awards, recognitions and rankings which our IP practice has received from globally and locally renowned organisations, as well as our frequent engagements by international IP bodies – including WIPO and the International Trademark Association (INTA) – are testimonies of our remarkable achievements in IP practice in Nigeria. We have been rated as a Tier 1 firm for contentious and non-contentious trademark and patent work in Nigeria from 2001 to 2017 by Managing Intellectual Property’s Annual Survey; ranked among the World’s Leading Trademark Professionals 2017; awarded the Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year 2016 at the ESQ/Nigeria Legal Awards; recognised by Global Law Experts (Practice Award, as Full-service IP Law Firm of the Year 2014); named Nigeria Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year at the Corporate Livewire Global Awards (2014-2015); and named Nigerian Trademark Law Firm of The Year 2014 at the Acquisition International Legal Awards. Further, the firm was shortlisted as one of seven firms worldwide for IP Firm of the Year in an Emerging Market by Informa Law.

As one of Africa’s leading IP practices and Nigeria’s largest practice, we have made our mark in contributing to the growth and awareness of intellectual property in Nigeria and several African countries. We have significant experience in raising public awareness on the subject of intellectual property, and have facilitated several public awareness forums organised by WIPO and INTA as well as various government offices, including the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Commercial Department and the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

Network Memberships: INTA, AIPPI, ITMA

Last updated 28th March 2018

Firm overview

Von Seidels is a specialist IP law firm in Africa with a team of over 100 people. We assist clients both locally and internationally in obtaining all forms of IP protection and deals with all IP related commercial activities, including agreements, valuations and litigation.

Our head office is in Cape Town and we have a satellite office in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have offices in ARIPO (Namibia), OAPI (Cameroon) and Nigeria.

Von Seidels Nigeria office is based in the country’s capital and IP centre, Abuja. We partnered with experienced Nigerian IP attorney Okey Onyekanma to establish this office.

Our offices cover the majority of the African continent. South Africa, ARIPO, OAPI and Nigeria combined comprise 70% of Africa’s countries. In the rest of Africa we work with trusted agents. 

With many years of experience working in Africa, we have vast local knowledge and understanding of country-specific legislative requirements and issues across this continent.

Firm overview

Stren & Blan Partners is distinguished in the market for its exceptional capabilities in the Intellectual Property, Trademark, and Copyright practice areas. Our firm's key strengths are outlined below, collectively contributing to our prominent position in the market.

Our practice excels in developing and implementing strategic brand protection initiatives and enforcing infringement processes on behalf of leading household brands. Stren & Blan Partners has built a reputation for safeguarding client trademarks and registrations, as well as formulating pioneering policies that drive sector growth.