Business brief 2018: Nigeria

Patents

How are patent rights registered or secured in Nigeria?

Under the Nigeria Patents and Designs Act, an invention will be deemed patentable only if it is new, results from inventive activity and is capable of industrial application, or if it constitutes an improvement upon a patented invention.

In Nigeria, there is a centralised system of registration for patents at the Patents and Designs Registry by filling appropriate forms accompanied by a patent application, a specification (including a claim or claims), plans or drawings if any, a declaration and an authorisation of agent.

What are the costs of obtaining and defending a patent?

The average cost of obtaining a patent is between $606 and $724. Official fees for a single non-convention (PCT and Paris Convention) country patent: $41.66, convention country patent application: $69.44.

Average professional fees: $565 to $655. Making amendments to submitted documentation ranges between $261 and $397, inclusive of professional fees and disbursements.

It would cost approximately $25,000 to defend an action for patent invalidation on a client’s behalf, depending on the complexity of the lawsuit, exclusive of costs and expenses.

Is there anything unusual about Nigeria’s patent law that companies should be aware of, and what are the most common mistakes businesses make?

In Nigeria, the right to a patent is vested in the statutory inventor who first files the application for grant of patent. Nigeria does not have an investigation or examination procedure for inventions as the registry lacks the requisite technical skill and funding to carry out detailed examination.
Patents are granted at the risk of the patentee without any guarantee as to their validity. Consequently, the substantial validity of a patent can be challenged at any time after its issuance in a court of law by an interested party.