Trademark Dilution
Some of you might have heard about trademarks and a few of you may have in-depth knowledge of trademarks and other Intellectual Property Rights. For those who are not conversant with the term trademark, it refers to a sign capable of distinguishing goods and services of one brand from another (Section 10(1) of the Nigerian Trademarks Act 1967). Under the Nigerian trademark Act, a mark may consist of “a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, or any combination thereof;” while in other jurisdictions, a trademark may include symbols (2 dimensional diagrams), shapes (3 dimensional diagrams), words, numbers, and logos, as well as non-conventional marks such as colours, smells, holograms or sound . Trademarks have to be registered to obtain protection (although unregistered trademarks may be protected albeit to a lesser degree) and can be protected for as long as the registration is renewed. Perhaps the most recognisable tradema...