The Nigerian authorities have for some time been keen to split
the Registry of Trademarks, Patents and Designs into separate
registries. The initial thinking was that it would be split into
three separate registries – one for Patents, one for Designs
and one for Trademarks – but there were doubts as to whether
this was lawful, given that the fields of patents and designs are
covered by a single piece of legislation, the Patents and Designs
Act, Cap 344 of 1990.
A split has now been confirmed, but there will in fact simply be
two registries. There will in due course be a:
- Patents and Designs Registry, housed
by the Patents and Designs Unit of the Commercial Law Department of
the Ministry the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and
Investment.
