Intellectual Property
At Allan & Ogunkeye clients benefit from our well established expertise and extensive practice of Intellectual Property law. We provide a wide range of services which includes:
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Trademarks, Patents and Industrial Designs Registration, Maintenance, Protection and Enforcement.
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Copyright Protection and Enforcement
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Trade Dress and Trade Description protection and enforcement
Our firm has advised clients on franchising documentation, trade secrets documentation and the regulatory procedure for the approval of foods and drugs in Nigeria.
We are Associate members of the International Trade Mark Association. The firm is also a member of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group. Additionally, the Partners of the firm are members of the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Association for Protection of Industrial Property (AIPPI). The Partners of the firm are also members of the Institute of Trademark Attorneys (ITMA-U.K).
The firm has shown exceptional professional expertise with the following landmark achievements in Intellectual Property Protection and Enforcement.
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In 1985, we secured the first search and seizure order (i.e. An Anton Piller Order) to be granted by a Nigerian Court in a copyright infringement action
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We were actively involved, as local attorneys for the International Federation and Video gram Producers (IFPL), in the process leading to the review of the Copyright Act In 1988
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As a device for obtaining an injunction against a very large numbers of persons scattered all over the country. In 1989 we pioneered the procedure for constituting such persons into a defined class, obtaining the leave of Court to sue them as a Class and obtaining a class injunction against them.
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We were responsible for the only known order made by a Nigeria Court, in an Intellectual Property infringement action, authorizing on the basis of the unpaid vendor’s right of stoppage in transit, the seizure of a ship in transit in a Nigeria Port, of a cargo of infringing material being consigned to a neighbouring country but whose consignee has a Nigerian address.
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In 2006, we persuaded the Nigerian Court of Appeal to hold for the first time, that where a person is injured as a consequence of an act by another person which is prohibited by statute, regardless of the fact that the statute provides a penal sanction for the doing of the prohibited act, the injured person has a right to redress.
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We secured a verdict of the Court of Appeal justifying actions seeking injunction and damages against parallel importers of food and drug products into Nigeria
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In 2007 we secured a favourable verdict at the High Court affirming the validity of a selection patent grant in Nigeria