The Intellectual Property Lawyers Association of Nigeria (IPLAN) and other stakeholders have been working on presenting a revamped Industrial Property Commission (IPCOM) bill to the Nigerian National Assembly. The IPCOM bill seeks to harmonize all the current IP laws and bodies by establishing single law and body for the administration of trade marks, copyright, patents and designs in Nigeria among other improvements. The IPCOM bill is an attempt to bring Nigerian IP practic

The Registrar of the Botswana Trade Mark Office has commenced the arduous task of publishing the marks filed and designated to Botswana under the Madrid System. The publication of the first batch of the applications has appeared in the Botswana Trade Mark Journal Volume 17 Issue 2, dated the 31st of May 2016. The Madrid system is an international registration system administered by WIPO through the international Bureau. Once an applicant for registration under the Madrid sy

On Tuesday, 21 June 2016, Mrs Adebola Adegoke was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Justice of Nigeria as the head the Commercial Law Department, a department under the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment. As head of the commercial law department Mrs Adegoke was by default in charge of the Trade mark, Patent and Design registries as they are a unit under the Commercial Law Department. As new Director of the Commercial Law Department, Mrs Adegoke began to make the nece

"if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain" This year the International Trade Mark Association (INTA) will host its first ever conference in Africa. The meeting is set to take place in Cape Town South Africa at a venue as close to the foot of Table Mountain as one can get, the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel. INTA will host two meetings from the 31st of August to the 2nd of September 2016. A one day ICC-BASCAP conference focusing on counterfeit goods