₦airaland Forum

This forum will attempt to answer questions concerning the legal environment of the Nigerian IT and Telecoms sector.

This forum will answer legal questions concerning the Nigerian business environment. From copyright and trademark laws to labour laws, tax laws, e-commerce laws, telecommunications laws, consumer protection laws, insurance laws, banking laws e.t.c it will try to provide an accurate assessment of the legal situation and render advice that you may be needing, all for free

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTERING A PATENT IN NIGERIA

Applications for a patent must be made to the Registrar of Patents and Copyrights in Abuja. A search must first be carried out to ensure that the product has not already been patented. The importance of a search in order to avoid a possible legal backlash cannot be overstressed. The fact that nothing similar to your product is in the market is not an indication that it or something too similar hasn’t already acquired patent rights. After the search has been completed the inventor is free to go ahead and proceed with registration.

An application can than be made to the registrar and must contain
• The applicant’s full name and address. If the applicant’s address is outside Nigeria then a service address will be admissible.
• The description of the relevant invention along with any plans and drawings appropriate.
• A claim that defines the particular protection or rights sought after by the applicant.
• Such other matter as may be prescribed depending on the facts of the application.

These requirements will be accompanied by:
a. A prescribed fee
b. Where appropriate, a declaration by the true inventor requesting that he be mentioned as such in the Patent with his name and address.
c. In event of where a legal practitioner makes the application on behalf of the applicant, a signed Power of Attorney will be required.

Once awarded the Patent rights the inventor is free to exercise his rights over it as he may choose. He may if he chooses, decide to assign his proprietary rights over the invention to any person he wishes in any geographical territory. He may also upon consideration or payment, grant a Patent license to another party on terms agreeable to him.

@ e-business, the process for liquidating a company in Nigeria

• A statutory declaration declaring that the company intended to be liquidated is able to pay off all its debits within 12 months of commencing the liquidation, is issued by the directors (or the majority of them) within 5 weeks prior to the passage of a special resolution authorizing the liquidation;

• A general meeting is called where the special resolution for the liquidation of the company is passed;

• At the general meeting, one or more liquidators are appointed; after the appointment of the liquidator, the powers of the directors shall cease, except as far as the company in general meeting or with the approval of the liquidator;

• Within 14 days of his appointment, the liquidation must publish in a gazette and 2 daily newspapers a notice of his appointment and also send notification of his appointment to the CAC.

• Where the liquidator is of the opinion that the company will not be able to pay up its debt within the period stated in the solvency declaration, he is obliged to summon a meeting of the creditors and lay before them, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the company;

• where the liquidation will continue for more than one year, the liquidator is obliged to summon a general meeting of the company at the end of the first year from the commencement of the date the resolution was passed and of each succeeding year, or at the first convenient date within three months from the year or such other date the C.A.C. shall allow; laying before the meeting, an account of his dealings and the conduct of the liquidation during the preceding year ;

• when the affairs of the company have been wound up, the liquidator shall call a general meeting by notice published in gazette and in some newspaper printed in Nigeria and circulating in the locality where the meeting is being called, and lay an account - giving an explanation thereof - of the conduct of liquidation and how the property was disposed; and within 7 days, send a copy of the account to the C.A.C.

• as soon as the liquidation is completed, the liquidator shall prepare and send to every member of the company, financial accounts showing the conduct of the liquidation and the results of any trading done by the company; and convene a general meeting to lay before the members and explain the accounts; and within 7 days after the meeting, forward to the C.A.C. for registration, copies of the account and a statement of the meeting and the date it was held;

• prior to the laying of the accounts before the general meeting, the account should be audited by the auditor (s) of the company, who are obliged to also annex a report to the effect that, in their opinion and to the best of their information, they obtained all the information necessary for the audit, and proper records were maintained by the liquidator, and also that the accounts were in accordance;

• Three months after the registration of the statement of account of the liquidation with the CAC, the company is officially liquidated and will cease to exist.