What is a trademark?
A trademark is a distinctive sign which is used to identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise.
What does a trademark do?
A trademark provides protection to its owner by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services.
A trademark can be used, or transferred or sold or licensed.
What kinds of trademarks can be registered?
- One or a combination of words, letters and numerals (Word trademarks – standard or stylized)
- Drawings (device marks), symbols (device marks), three-dimensional signs (device marks), audible signs (sound marks), fragrances (scent marks) or colors (color marks)
- Owned by association for its members to use them for identifying themselves with a level of quality or other requirements as set by the association (collective marks)
- Marks that may be granted to anyone who can certify that the products or services meet certain established standards (certification marks)
Each country has its own trademark laws, registration system and procedures. Some countries have joint trademark laws, registration system and procedures.
Regional Schemes Available for Trademark Protection in AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST & MEDITERRANEAN:
ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property Organization): Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization): Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
CTM (Community Trademarks): European Union member countries.
In the field of Trademarks, LAFAFSI LIMITED, provides a number of solutions, namely:
- Conducting searches
- Filing and prosecuting of new trademark applications
- Filing and defending trademark oppositions
- Filing and defending trademark cancellation actions
- Filing and payment of maintenance fees, declarations of use
- Attending to recording of Assignment, Merger, Change of Name or Address
- Attending to licensing issues and recording
- Undertaking and payment of renewals for trademarks
- Providing consultation on trademark issues
- Providing consultation on distributor agreements touching on IP issues
- Watching the trademark gazettes for infringing marks
- Conducting market surveys for counterfeit acts and/or market information
- Providing and taking of legal actions against infringers
Requirements - Go to the Countries page to view requirements per country
Fee Quote - Request for a Fee Quote by emailing here
Access to your Trademark Records Online - If you are already our client, go to our secure site and login to view your trademark records with us
Instruct us to file your Trademark Online - Using our secure site, you can also send us trademark filing instructions by following easy step by step guided procedures
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