Nigeria tops the list of clients most filed-in Jurisdiction in Africa 2016.

Nigeria is consistently at the top of our list of most filed-in jurisdictions for our clients filing in Africa as it hosts one of the largest populations on the continent with a rapidly growing retail market. As was confirmed by the Nigerian courts in a recent trade mark case, Nigeria is a first to file jurisdiction and we therefore advise that the registration of trade marks is an essential and necessary step for any rights holder looking to import goods into this market.

Due to the nature of our business relationship with a local attorney, we can effectively do away with an additional layer of fees. The effect of this is that our fees for filing patent, trade mark and design applications in Nigeria are very competitive, even when compared to that charged by local Nigerian agents. For example, our all-inclusive fees for filing a trade mark application in one class is approximately USD 720, Excluding only the cost of responding to any official actions raised and publication and registration fees, which are also minimal when compared to those charges by many other agents.

In short when looking at expanding into Africa, Nigeria is one of the first countries to consider and Rouse Africa is right there to assist with the protection of your IP when doing so.