According to World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), ‘Intellectual Property (IP) refers to creations of the mind such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce’. https://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/
Intellectual Property is a term used to describe intangible assets, of value and that are original ideas or creation of individuals/organisations. In law, by patents, copyright, trademarks) and trade secrets, intellectual property is protected, thus enabling people to earn recognition and/or financial benefit from what they invent or create.
Intellectual property lawyers are experts who deal with legal issues related to the ownership of trademarks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets. They act as legal advisors and advocates on a wide variety of matters and are in high demand, especially as many businesses are going online. They are contacted for a range of reasons, including protection of intellectual property, preventing unauthorised use of trade names as domain names for some websites, to mention a few. Owners of the trademarks do not take kindly to others using their names for unapproved or fraudulent activities, including the use of their trademarks as domain names. They, therefore, rely on the IP lawyers to ensure their tradenames and/ or trademarks are not impersonated and or misused.
Nigeria boasts of a number of Law Firms with well recognised Intellectual Property Practices, including Aluko & Oyebode (AO), Jackson, Etti & Edu (JEE), etc. Organisations looking for intellectual property lawyers may contact IP Stars, a leading resource for experienced legal practitioners for contentious and non-contentious IP advice.
Worldwide, Intellectual Property Practices are ranked annually by Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars.
On the website of IP Stars, in 2019, both Aluko & Oyebode and Jackson, Etti & Edu (JEE) were recommended in practice areas of ‘patent’ and ‘copyright and related rights’. https://www.ipstars.com/Jurisdiction/Nigeria/Rankings/8485#rankings
For the 2020 rankings, IP Stars placed JEE in the Tier 1 in the trademark practice area of their ranking. IP Stars states that the rankings reflect their understanding of the strengths of the firms vis-a-viz their rivals, and a firm ranked as Tier 1 tends to have a leading reputation or expertise in the relevant practise area, long-established practitioners and a varied portfolio of work. Jackson, Etti & Edu (JEE) also received an award (Firm of the Year -Nigeria) under the Africa category at the 15th annual Managing IP Awards on the 5th March 2020 in London, UK as MIP revealed the EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) award winners.
The 2020 rankings by Chambers Global Guide specifically highlights Uwa Ohiku, Chinyere Okorocha and Obafemi Agaba of Jackson Etti and Edu (JEE) for their expertise in intellectual property and anti-counterfeiting related matters, Koye Edu and Fola Olusanya for their solid track record in commercial advisory and cites Asamah Kadiri for his skilled corporate litigation.
The Chambers Global Guide ranks top lawyers and firms in over 190 countries, based on technical legal ability, client service, commercial vision and business understanding, diligence, value for money, depth of the team, and professional conduct.
The ratings are generated from direct client feedback, information submitted by each firm, and an in-depth review of public filings on each firm’s transactions – all of which is analysed by a London-based team of 200+ researchers.
The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) is proud to be associated with Jackson, Etti and Edu and Aluko & Oyebode and wish both firms many more successes.