Nigeria

Firm overview

Inventa is a leading Intellectual Property Law Firm, specialized in the protection and internationalization of trademarks, patents, industrial designs, copyright and domain names. With over 50 years of experience in Portugal, the European Union and all the African jurisdictions, Inventa has served thousands of clients holding large trademark and patent portfolios, and other entities dealing with R&D daily. Furthermore, our experience allows us to understand the caveats of the different industries since we maintain relationships with clients from different sectors, including food and beverages companies, communications, IT, pharmaceuticals, manufacturers, oil & gas companies, financial institutions, business services companies and more.

Our headquarters are based in Lisbon, Portugal, and we also have offices in Angola, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Sao Tome, East Timor and Macao. Inventa also holds a large network of representatives all across the African region, including representation before the ARIPO and OAPI regional organizations, committed to delivering global coverage with local experience.

Due to our wide network of contacts and associate level, we offer our clients a highly specialized team of professionals in the Intellectual Property field and related strategic sectors. Our professionals guarantee personalized and efficient accompaniment in all our services.

Firm overview

ǼLEX’ Intellectual Property Practice is recognized as one of the leading IP practices in Nigeria. The firm was recognised by WTR 1000 in its 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 rankings.

We handle all matters (both of a contentious and non-contentious nature) relating to trademarks, patents, copyright, franchising, licensing, distributorship agreements and technology transfer. We file trademark, patent and design applications in Nigeria and Ghana directly, as well as in OAPI countries through an agent. We also have considerable experience in civil and criminal actions against infringement.
We have a network of firms in other directions with whom we offer bilateral intellectual property portfolio management services.

We provide advisory services to companies across different sectors, including technology, media, liquor, pharmaceutical that are looking to protect their IP. We also offer investigative services to clients whose products are being adulterated and sold locally. In addition, we assist our clients with the registration of their products with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

We manage the portfolio of over 200 companies (and over 1,000,000 marks, designs, copyrights, patents), across Nigeria and Ghana.

Some of our assignments include:

• Advised The Coca-Cola Company on its acquisition of 100% equity in C.H.I Limited, one of Nigeria's leading producers and distributors of dairy and juice products. Amongst other things, this transaction involved the restructuring of IP ownership between both companies and conducting due diligence on about 134 trademarks in Nigeria, Ghana and OAPI.
• Represented Sproxil Inc. in a patent infringement action instituted against it at the Federal High Court. The Plaintiff claims that Sproxil's Mobile Authentication System (“MAS”), in respect of which Sproxil has a registered patent in Nigeria, infringes on the Plaintiff's earlier registered patent.
• Represented Sproxil Inc. in a copyright infringement matter instituted against the company at the Federal High Court. The Plaintiff claims that Sproxil's MAS infringes on its right to the same invention which he claims he has protected as a copyright.
• We maintain the registration of trademarks owned by many multinational companies including Mondelez International Inc., Kraft Heinz Company, Volvo, Abbott Laboratories, BASF SE, Dell Inc., Red Bull, Huawei, Lenovo and Kentucky Fried Chicken. We have continued to handle the trademark portfolio of most of these companies for over 10 years, which is an indication of the expertise of the firm, as well as the quality and depth of our practice.
• Filing notices of opposition on behalf of the International Olympics Committee and several other companies to prevent registration of similar trademarks.
• Assisting an international retail company with obtaining an approval of the renewal of its franchise agreement with its Nigerian subsidiary from the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (“NOTAP”).
• Assisting a leading confectionery company with the review of a management services, trademark licence and product formula licence agreement for compliance with the requirements for registration with the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion.

Financed and contributed to the organization of stakeholders’ workshop for the review of a new draft IP law at the National Assembly.

AELEX provides bono services to startups and accelerators as it assists these companies in registering their intellectual property to ensure that they have adequate protection for their rights.

Headline firm responsible for the drafting of the recently passed Nigeria Startup Act 2022. Provisions bordering on protection of IP and incentives for startups were also introduced in the Act.

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.

Firm overview

G. Elias is one of Nigeria’s leading business law firms. We have been in business since 1994. We are known for the originality of our thinking, the thoroughness of the content of our work, our speed of response and our integrity and resolve to executing our client’s work to the highest standards. The quality of our work is recognized in all the leading international directories of lawyers. Our paramount aim in our IP practice as in all our other practices has always been to offer our clients, services of very highest quality. That means that we emphasize technical proficiency, attention to detail and creativity in developing practical solutions to clients' problems. We are known for our sensitivity to clients' business needs and concerns and promptness in responding to and executing their requests. We have expertise and experience, and we welcome enquiries and instructions.

We have invested in the technology, facilities and support personnel that we need to excel at what we do. We have unusual breadth in the range of our work. We are organized into sixteen practice groups and twenty-five subsectors. We have been consistently highly ranked in global directories of lawyers vis a vis , Chambers Global, World Trademark Review, The IP stars amongst others. Our IP practice has consistently been highly rated. We are unusual among law firms in that we have the ISO 9001:2008 certification and are currently transitioning to ISO 9001:2015 certification. In the field of intellectual property ("IP"), infringement prosecution, defense, and enforcement of trademarks including online enforcement, patents, utility models and design models as well as preparing and concluding licence agreements, G. Elias & Co. is your go-to firm.

Our Intellectual Property practice is central to our vibrant New Economy practice. (By "New Economy" we mean telecommunications, technology, media and entertainment--subsectors that today contribute 15% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product.) We work with patents in the telecommunications and technology subsectors; on copyright in the media and entertainment subsectors and on trademarks across all New Economy subsectors.

We represent writers, actors, directors, producers, production companies, media companies, distributors, sales agents, authors, musicians, composers, management companies and journalists across media platforms. Our work cuts across the film, music, television, theatre, print and publishing, radio, gaming and other areas of established and emerging media. We have industry experience in drafting, negotiating, recording talent and executive employment agreements and advising creative media and entertainment and new media companies.

Our experience in providing legal and business solutions to technology companies extends to licensing, advising on data privacy, protection and registration with relevant regulatory bodies and to structuring and providing comprehensive legal services to protect and advance our clients position in transactions.

Financial Services
Food manufacturing
Commodities
Food and Beverage
Fast moving consumer goods
Automobile
Medical Technology
Information Technology
Media and Entertainment
Agricultural services
Health and Pharmaceuticals
Cosmetics and Fashion
Sports
Education
Transport
Electrical and Electronics
Hotel and Hospitality