Ifeanyi Okonkwo

Ifeanyi E. Okonkwo is a Partner at Stillwaters Law Firm. He holds degrees in law and philosophy, and a masters in intellectual property and technology law. He is one of the few globally recognised experts in Intellectual property and as gained recognition WIPR, IAM300, and MIPLG Nigerian IP lawyer of the year, 2025/2026.

Ifeanyi heads the commercial intellectual property and data privacy department of the firm. He has advised blue chip companies on strategies and commercialization models for their intellectual property assets in the digital economy. He has also advised international and local companies on the strategic and legal use of data within the digital ecosystem.

Regarding policy and legislation, Ifeanyi is one of the two IP experts consulted by the National office for Trade Negotiations during the deliberation of the AfCFTA IP Protocol. He also served as the European Union Intellectual Property Office and AFRIPI support consultant for Geographical Indication Draft Bill in Nigeria. Ifeanyi was also a consultant for the Plant Variety Office on the Regulation to the Plant Variety Act. He is one of those that critiqued the Nigerian Copyright Act and advised on the amendment of the Omnibus Bill in relation to intellectual property. Ifeanyi is also one of the experts that advised on the recent Nigeria’s IP Policy, as well as the IP aspects of the Nigeria-UAE Partnership Agreement.

On Academia, Ifeanyi has written over 40 papers on IP, innovation and technology. He is an IP Faculty at the prestigious Tekedia Institute, where he lectures on Practical Intellectual Property for Businesses. He is passionate about the development of businesses in Africa.