Nigeria

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

Established in 1996, George Ikoli & Okagbue is a full-service law firm headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with an internationally renowned IP practice. With two offices in Nigeria and 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 and IP due diligence. 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.

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 specialist areas of the law. Our lawyers possess impressive expertise and have been involved in some high-profile IP transactions. They also hold leadership positions in local IP organisations.

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 with international IP bodies – including the International Trademark Association (INTA) – are testimonies of our remarkable achievements in IP practice in Nigeria.

As one of Africa’s leading IP practices and Nigeria’s largest IP 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 various government offices, including the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Commercial Department and the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

Key IP Areas

Copyright & related rights, Designs, Intellectual property (contentious), Intellectual property (prosecution), IP transactions, Patent, Trade mark, Trade mark contentious, Trade mark prosecution, Patent contentious, Patent prosecution

Key Sector Expertise

Aerospace, Advertising, Agriculture, Arts, Automotive, Chemical, Computer technology & services, E-commerce, Electrical, Construction & materials, Fashion & luxury goods, Film, Financial services, FMCG, Food & beverage, Hospitality & leisure, ICT & software, Manufacturing, Logistics, Media, Medical device, Music, Not-for-profit, Oil & gas, Pharmaceutical, Optics & photonics, Professional services, Publishing, Real estate, Renewable energy, Retail, Sports, Technology hardware, Telecommunication, Tobacco, Transport, Universities & research, Utilities, Furniture

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

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