₦airaland Forum

Readthis topic and after that get back to me privately https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-162152.0.html

Cheers!

It means the property is duely noted by the land registry as your land after all the preliminary fees and stamp duties have been paid to acquire the land. In most situations, letters of allocation come directly from the land registry after the land has been properly surveyed and deliminated by the government it self. The government is very much interested in that land and have done everything to make sure that that land or plots of land are within their care and control. After the letter of allocation, it would be very wise of you to pursue the deed of release from them so as to have total control of the property. Most mortgage institutions will not rely on a letter of allocation to grant you a loan unless you have the deed of release or otherwise. But be rest assured with the land allocation letter, it is registered in Alausa that you are the true owner of the property barring any other person from claiming the title to that land.

Cheers!

ok, in respect of Festac, i am sure it is being handled by the Federal Housing Agency (FHA) which is equivalent to the Lagos State Property Development Corporation (lsdpc) for Lagos state. The idea behind setting up the FHA is that these lands have been deliminated by the government and all the paper work have been done. They will issue you a letter of allocation which covers all the preliminary things that should naturally be in a C/O and subsequently issue you a Deed Of Release which is almost akin to a governor's consent but since it is Federal thing, it is usually done by the federal minister of works and housing who finally authorizes it.

For more information, ask

Cheers

EKENEA:
The law,

please i Will like to know which document (apart from land receipt and c of o) do you think, I suppose to have as a complete document for a house/ property

For now, as long as you have the C/O you are a little bit covered because the basic requirements needed by most mortgage institutions when you want to mortgage your property is a C/O but if you intend to sell it to another person at some later date, it might be wise for you to obtain the governor's consent soonest.

Nobody knows how those government officials in Alausa thinks. Tomorrow they might tell you that a C/o is no longer a valid medium to have possession and ownership of a land except you have the governors consent. Infact i am seeing it in my area where i live. Houses are being demolished that even have C/O from Alausa because it is not supposed to be there or maybe government has plans for that area. So the governors consent is the best bet for now for you to sleep in peace forever.

Cheers!

@naija cutee

Your comments are much appreciated and are usually a moral booster. I write these things to help people know whats up. Even though it seems like advertising, at least you get to know what you pay for without being under any shroud of mystery or controversy, Much love cutie

Introducing a cheap, fast and easy way to register your company for Nairalanders Only!

I have discovered that most Nairalanders want to own a company to run their future empires but their major constrain is money and lack of information on how to go about it and nobody needs the stress of the guys at the corporate affairs commision pushing you around and over burdening you with bureaucracies that could take forever.

The second fear is contacting a lawyer who would bill them unreasonable hereby making you not want to register it again because of lack of funds. Anyway Nairalanders, your in luck. I have met some really good people and business savvy people on nairaland face to face and i have realised their immediate registeration and financial problems and how much you guys are willing to pay to register a company.

All you now need is:

1. 3 Names to choose from when selecting your prefered name e.g powerpuff ltd, dumbells nigeria ltd and Fast cash Nigeria ltd. The C.A.C will choose the one that is available. If Powerpuff Ltd is the prefered one, then it should be number one on your list. Last Friday i submitted 3 names for registeration for a company and all the 3 names were rejected today by the C.A.C. I was shocked because these names were unique names but apparently someone in Plateau state has registered one, the other one in Ebonyi state and the third one from Enugu state. Please be very unique and innovative when selecting the names for your company so as to help me avoid future headaches and to start the process all over again. Abeg una!

2. Pick mininum of 2 directors to be signatory to the company and divide the percentage for shares e.g 60% -40% or 80% -20% etc. Dont do 99%-1% O! Like one very funny dude that i met on nairaland. C.A.C will throw away your Filing forms and na another fresh Money be that o! If you pick one craze man or step uncle that will give you wahala in future, na your headache be that o! Choose people that wouldnt disturb your progress in life or people that can contribute money for the success of the new company.

3. Your name and address

4. Choose your share capital e.g 1 Million Naira share capital. Anything over 1 Million attracts a mandatory fee of an extra N10,000 per every N1 Million Naira paid to the C.A.C. So if your thinking of having a share capital of N10 Million, be prepared to pay N100,000 first before any filing fee and stamp duty fees (So be very wise especially if you dont have the funds to start big)

After that, Leave the rest for us and we will do the rest. We know the ins and out of the C.A.C and make sure you get your incorporation document done within 4 weeks maximum.

Give away price for Nairalanders is N65,000 provided you say you are from the Nairaland forum. ( Thats the best i can go because the wahala of that yeye C.A.C, filinging this, stamping that, moving from first floor to 11th floor just to get one signature, swearing one affidavit on your behalf, drafting the incorporation documents that exceeds 10 pages plus constant recharge cards to follow up including transportation to and fro, pass N1Million including one carton of panadol extra) If your wondering about the extra N5,000 abeg na the money to grease the officials for C.A.C unless that 4 weeks i promise you go turn to 40 weeks. But if your ready to wait for due process and Yaradua's rule of law in the C.A.C, then N60,000 is okay with me no wahala! I prefer that one sef!

Call 07036681104. Only serious prospective future business enterpreneurs that i would be proud to associate my self with tomorrow should call. Any JANKARA or 419 Business shall be heavily rebuked in Jesus name by me, lol


P:S: If you have registered a business name before and want to convert to a limited company, abeg hold that business registeration certificate and keep it well in case you want to use the same name in future unless the C.A.C will reject it. E.g if your business name is Kelechi & Bros ventures and you want to convert it to Kelechi & Bros Limited, you will need to attach that business name registeration certificate with the search of name form to make sure Kelechi & Bros is given prior attention unless you will never use that name lai lai as your company name in future!
Cheers!

Why Blame Dragnet? If you didnt answer their clarion call to defraud you, you wont have been scammed. They just played on the psychology of job seekers who are desperate to find jobs and am sure somewhere in their contract written in small prints provides a caveat emptor which states that a job is not a compulsory thing they must find for you.

Just beware and learn from this!

From Arsenal.com Breaking news:

Arsenal announce signing of Mikael Silvestre
Arsenal has today signed French defender Mikael Silvestre on a two year deal having joined the Gunners from Manchester United for an undisclosed fee.

Silvestre (31), an experienced and versatile player, has been with Manchester United since 1999 winning a host of domestic honours including four Premier League titles, one FA Cup winner’s medal and a League Cup winner’s medal. Silvestre was also part of the UEFA Champions League winning side of 2008 and made a total of 361 appearances for the Manchester side, scoring 10 goals.

Silvestre, who debuted for French national side in 2001, has also made a total of 40 appearances for Les Bleus. Highlights of his international career so far are winning the Confederations Cup in both 2001 and 2003 and reaching the World Cup Final in 2006.

Mikael said on signing for the Gunners: “I’ve spent a large part of my career at United, the last nine years, and I’ll remember that time fondly but feel I’m ready for a new challenge. Arsenal is known for playing technical and skilful football, and has a young but experienced squad. I’m really excited about this next stage of my career, hopefully playing my part in helping the Club to new successes.”

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said: “We have a strong squad but a young squad and Mikael’s versatility, experience and calibre will provide the extra depth we need to reinforce our challenge for honours this season. His defensive adaptability will serve us well and it’s a big plus that Mikael has top level experience and a great understanding of football in the Premier League.”

Mikael will join up with his team-mates immediately and will wear shirt number 18.


[Wednesday, August 20, 2008]

I just read it on sky sports and it is totally a demoralizing story to say the least. All the arguments profered by Wenger doesnt hold any water what so ever. The talk of him being a replacement for justin Hoyte is just like jumping from Frying pan to fire. His experience that he is supposed to bring runs short of lunacy because he wasnt even first choice in Manutd.

The most irritating aspect of it is that he was bought directly from our rivals Manutd which is totally sickening and to make matters worse, he is been handed over the jersey number "18' which was Paschal CYGAN'S number.

Boy its going to be a long season!

Anyway just heard a rumour from a friend close to the arsenal corporation that the last player we would be buying would be stephen Appiah! Guess this is the experienced set Wenger promised us, pssff!

@scopido

I have a friend that might be interested in your property to rent it for one year at N250,000 per annum. Is it still possible? is there any other hidden charge that i should know about e.g agency commission and legal fees? Thanks!

Does anyone in the house have a property for sale in Admiralty way or around Lekki phase 1? The Client's prefered budget shouldnt exceed N50 Million for a regular 160m2 by 120 m2 property.

Prefered Description includes a duplex, 3 to 4 rooms minimum and a boys quarters.

Call 07036681104 if you have any because it is an urgent request.

Cheers!

Firstly i don tire for una for Nairaland. Since my last post on (Tips on how to register a Property in Lagos), You guys have bombarded my e-mail box with series of questions regarding the same thing and i don't even know what to do again to help you. Even if someone needs to help you obtain the C/O or the Governor's consent, you must finally get these things right once and for all because from now on, i would be ignoring emails that ask me these same questions.


To register a C/O sharp sharp and to avoid so many stories, this is just the basics you should know and the fees to be paid.

[b]1. Get your survey plan

2. Get the land information from the surveyor general's office or ask your lawyer to get it for you. It costs just N7,000 Only (No cheating) any body that tells you it is more than that is scamming you big time.

3. Get your structural Drawing in place i.e what structure you intend to put on the land or architectural design

4. 2 Passport photographs

5. Tax reciept or Tax clearance certificate (This is very very important now and without this, no C/O would be granted) Now if you don't have it, but you want to proceed with your C/O registeration immediately, you must pay N60,000 to the land registry to cover the Tax clearance certificate. No more, no less.

6. Purchase reciept from the previous owners or family that sold it to you better still known to you as the "omo ni ile boys" for all of you scrambling for family property beyond lekki phase 2 to Epe

7. Very important, "BROWN ENVELOPE" to follow up the C/O at the land registry, N50,000 (Na Naija we de! Shine your eye, no dulling!) unless your C/O will come out after Yaradua's second term in office , lol


8. Legal Fees negotiable with the lawyer depending on if he likes your guts or your attitude, lol [/b]


You can see how simple this is and does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Please no more emails on these simple questions except you want me to assist you to get it done ASAP because your a nairalander.

Now to the Governor's consent



Now lets break it down simply (Abeg carry your calculator as you de read am o! I can't shout anymore):

Tip 1: Every area in lagos state has its own separate fees to pay for the governor's consent. I will illustrate with 5 real examples.

a. If you have a property in AKOWONJO / SHASHA Local Government, it is N1,500 per m2 (Square meter)

b. If you have a property in LEKKI PHASE 2, it is N4,500 per m2 (Square meter)

C. If you have a property in GBAGADA/ANTHONY, it is N6,000 per m2 (Square meter)

d. If you have a property in ILUPEJU RESIDENTIAL, it is N10,000 per m2 (Square meter)

e. If you have a property in PARK VIEW/OSBORNE 1, it is N40,000 per m2 (Square meter)

So if you bought the land for N1,000,000 (One Million Naira), and you know from the survey plan that your land is probably for example 160m2 by 56 m2, you have to calculate your area multiplied by the square meters.

E.G if we use AKOWONJO / ISHERI which is N1,500 per m2 (Square meter), the calculation will go like this:

N1,500 X 160 M2 = N240,000.

This N240,000 is the assessment Price.


Secondly, we have what is being called CAPITAL GAIN TAX which is 2% of the Assessment Price.

That is 2% of N240,000 =N4,800


Thirdly we have what is being called STAMP DUTY which is also 2% of the Assessment Price

That is 2% of N240,000 =N4,800


Fourthly we have what is being called REGISTRATION FEES which is now 3% of the Assessment Price

That is 3% of N240,000 =N7,200

Fifthly we have what is being called CONSENT FEES which is 8% of the Assessment Price

That is 8% of N240,000 =N19,200


The total price you would pay for the governor's consent for just AKOWONJO/SHASHA local government area for a property or land bought is

N240,000 + N19,200 +N4,800 +N4,800 + N7,200 = N276,000.

So if your property is in Ajah, Lekki, ikeja, Isolo etc, the calculation is basically the same with the exception of the rate per square meters that is different i.e either N10,000 per m2 or N6,500 per m2, depending on the area.


Generally Service charge i.e legal fees for procuring the Governor's consent within 40 days tops should not exceed between N80,000-N120,000 depending on your negotiation skills because you have to conceed that this is Nigeria we are talking about and if "brown envelopes" and "recharge cards" doesnt circulate around to the key people to assess it on time, it would take probably 6months-2years to get it done.

I have read so many emails complaining that N80,000 to N100,000 is too much to do the governor's consent and all i do is refer them to other lawyers or firms such as Festus keyamo, Gani Fawenhimi or Ajumogobia and Okeke. I really can't picture any lawyer (Hungry or not or charge and bail or whatever) doing this for less than N150,000 because of the stress and madness of the land registry and the constant transportation and phone calls to monitor the different stages of registeration and filings. The land registry knows that for you to buy a house and pay over N1Million to buy a piece of land, you can be bluffed around and made to cough out more than expected and with the new laws that intend to revoke C/O's parading around, the Land registry knows that land owners are extremely panicky and pay anything to make sure they get a governors consent no matter the cost.

Other requirements that must be filed after calculating the governors consent include:

1. Dated Letter of application with address and telephone number usually done by a lawyer

2. Completed Form 1c usually done by a lawyer on behalf of the owner of the land

3.Certified true copy of the Grantors title document (The grantor's title document is the C/O or other relevant title of the land or property given to the new owner of the land by the former owner)

4. Grantee's Tax clearance certificate/ Development levy (This is simple enough, Pay your taxes or no Governors consent)

5. 4 copies of the Deed of Assignment (That is the deed of assignment given to you and drafted by the former owner of the property or land to you)

6. Survey plans

7.Evidence of payment of for charting, endorsement and form 1c =N10,500* (Usually done by lawyers on behalf of the owner of the property)

8.Evidence of payment of ground rent /Land use charge

9. Building Plan and photography of the property

For further inquiries to know the area where your land or property falls under and to get the exact pricing of it, call me on 07036681104 and we will take it up from there. This is as easy as it gets and i doubt if the Land registry could be this patient with you to explain this.


Cheers and please register your property to avoid future wahala. No more excuses that you don't know the process!

Now you know!!

1. Property: Detached duplex with boys quarters, 5 Bedrooms with large outer area.

    Location: Herbert Macualey Road Yaba, located very close to the new sterling bank

    Area; 555.35 square metres

    Possession: Abosolute Possession

    Title: Land Certificate

    Lease: 3-5 years

    Rent: 3 years (3 Million p.a net) or

              5 years ( 4 Million p.a, negotiable)

    Ideal Lessee: Commercial Institutions



2.  Property: 2 Storey building with bungalow boys quarters.

    Location: Idowu Taylor Victoria Island Lagos

   Possession:  Last Sitting Tenant to vacate in 3 weeks time

    Lease: 3-5 years

    Rent: N25 Million net
   
    Ideal Lessee: Commercial Institutions

Call 08077943514 for more information or inspection

Cheers!

I am sorry, none so far today people, i have worked my butts off trying to get something within your preferrred ranges, but the total package seems to over shoot the budget. Well never say never, i am still working on it. A little patience never hurts in the long run.

Cheers!

The staff or a selected bunch of staffs can sue in a class action against the bank for violating Trade union rules and your rights under the constitution. For deducting money illegally, you can sue them for fraudulent misrepresentation, duress and undue influence. Also for violating the terms of the employment contract because i doubt if any employment contract, forces you to take properties that you dont want especially if it is a burden.

The constitution gives you a right to choose and a contract that gives you little bargaining power can be overturned by an competent court. The ball is in your court Acces Bank staffs. Fight against the illegal deduction.

It ahs been said "EVIL PERSISTS WHEN GOOD MEN FAIL TO TALK! ALL IT TAKES IS ONLY ONE GOOD MAN TO CRUMBLE AN EVIL EMPIRE"

I am working on it and i'll get back to you

Cheers!

mail me fast, lol

Cheers!

Got your messages and i'll get back at you soonest to know what we have.

Cheers!

Why should i give you or any body else give you an idea for free? what is in for me or anyother person giving you the idea? Havent you learnt anything from the Dragon Den?

Business is not free. An idea is only an idea until money backs it up. You have to conceed something to somebody before you get what you want, shikena!

This thread is Strictly for People with Low Income Budget who want to rent Apartments in Lagos between N150,000 Per Annum to N900,000 Maximum for 2 years


I have gone through the requests on Nairaland and i have discovered that most of you need places to rent in Lagos but have limited budgets. I can help to an extent to find what your looking for but it is subject to the following terms and conditions.

1. Those asking for a mini flat should be realistic in terms of a budget and not state ridiculous amounts like N100,000 per annum for a place like Lekki. Your only going to get a boys quarters at best. (If any)

2. Make sure you do your mathematics well and know what a total package is.

A total package means if your budget is N200,000 per annum for a mini flat, you have to consider 10% agency fees and 10% legal fees which is equal to N20,000 agency fees and N20,000 Legal fees which equals N240,000 per annum.

If it is 2 years rent the landlord demands, you have to multiply that by 2 which is equal to N480,000 for 2 years.

Please this is important for me to really know what you need unless it will be difficult to get what you want within a week.

3. Only mini flats, 2 bedroom flats and 3 bedroom flats should be advertised as apartments in need on this thread.

4. Most of the apartments rented in Lagos collect 2 years rent in advance so you should put that in mind when calculating your "TOTAL PACKAGE BUDGET".

5. Remember places like Ikeja, Ikoyi, Lekki, Magodo, Maryland and general choice areas will be difficult to get 3 bed room apartments in the range of N300,000 total package compared to areas like Idimu, ejigbo, iyana paja, Akowonjo, egbeda and a host of others that you can conviently get a 2-3 bedroom apartment for N300,000-N400,000 for 2 years "total package" 

6. I will not get you anything that requests for caution fees and if the Landlord demands it at all costs, i will make sure it is inserted in your tenancy agreement for you to be refunded.

Please once again be reasonable in your budget and preferred choice of location for all of us to work together and achieve your aims.

If we are clear on these minor rules, then you can proceed with your request!

Cheers!

Flowers:
@ Lawyer

I got a shop in Ogba but the agent said I would pay 20% agency, 20% legal and 10% caution fee. I know of 10% not 20% is there a foul play here? Also is the caution fee compulsory as they normally don't return the caution deposit after the expiry of the tenancy agreement.

Thanks

@Flower

If the 20% agency and 20% legal fees is for a 2 year rent, the agent might not be wrong because he is adding the 2 years together to make 20 %. e.g If your shop was rented at N200,000 for 2 years, and he takes 10% for each year, that equates to 20% for the 2 years and after your rent expires and you want to renew it, he is not entitled to ask for any percentage (%) again except the true rent amount.

If he asks you to pay 20% for a years rent, that is contrary to the Lagos state rent Act and he needs to be dealt with for taking advantage of you. He is only entitled to 10% for that one year rent and nothing more.

Now as per the caution fees. Well the law is a little bit silent on the issue of caution fees and there are contrary debates for and against it. The advise i give my clients on that issue is to make sure that the 20% legal fees your paying should include a well drafted tenancy agreement which you must demand for because they are collecting money for it and the clause stating that you have paid 10% of caution fees to prevent you from damaging the property and if after your rent expires and the property is in good shape, your caution fee should be refunded 100%.

It is very important to ask for that tenancy agreement and to keep it and before you even sign it, give a lawyer to look at it and make your lawyer demand that it should be in writing because most of these agents are shylocks and once you pay without including it in your tenancy agreement, your money would just disappear.

Hope i have tried to answer your questions

Cheers!

No femgirl, i am not an agent. Am a lawyer and lawyers do involve themselves with properties heavily and make sure we do everything in a legal way so as to prevent future purchasers or renters of properties from having any hassles in future .

Anyway i got ur mail. Lets take it up from there!

Cheers!

ok fem girl, send me an e-mail and i'll see what i can do this week with ur total package around the ogba area because allen , opebi, toyin street and gra are way off your budget. For 200,000 a year i think you can get a 2 bedroom flat conviently in ogba. Also state whether it is a mini flat or 2 bedroom flat you need because a 3 bedroom flat at that price might be a long shot!

Cheers!

I am based in Ikeja and i keep on telling prospective renters of property that you should be specific about location and budget because no agent or lawyer loves to be going round in circles looking for what you want when you dont understand the technicalities about it.

Firstly, you talk about ikeja. Ikeja is very wide and encompasses oregun, allen, opebi, off allen and opebi, agindigbi, oregun, alausa and probably the maryland extensions. You have to be specific because each zone has its different categories of price ranges.

Secondly, you say your budget is N400,000 but you have to remember that your budget is different from the final budget. You must have heard the term "total package". Total package means what ever your budget is, it also includes 10% legal fees for drafting the tenancy agreement and 10% Agency fees for scouting around and finding your preferred choice of property.

So if you say N400,000, it could jump up to N600,000 for 2 years. If you still say the total package is N400,000, your rent per year should be at worst N150,000 per year X 2Years which is N300,000.

10% of N300,000 is N30,000 X 2 Years =N60,000 (Agency Fees)

AND

10% of N300,000 is N30,000 X 2 Years =N60,000 (Legal Fees)

Which is equal to N120,000 + N300,000 = N420,000 (Total Package)

So Your still short N20,000 before you can remotely get what your looking for.

Always try and get the calculations right before you post anything so as to ginger up an agent or lawyer to help you unless you would be rudely ignored.

So pick your preferred choice of area and budget and get back to me after you do your personal accounting analysis

Cheers!

Haaaaaaaaaaaa, cgift, your a hilarious guy!!, I love ur determination, enterpreneurial and realtor skills! Buzz me a mail, we could do things together!

Cheers!

Start first by registering the N.G.O and getting the trustees for the NGO

Cheers!

elderly1:
So if I am buying a land of 400K yr legal fee will be 40,000 naira right or is the legal for the another lawyer?

Yes its N40,000 FOR THE LEGAL FEES if the property is being sold and conveyed by the sellers lawyer. Sometimes the buyers lawyer is also entitled to roughly 5% for procuring the sale by looking out for a good property for the buyer and doing the required legal search of the property.

buzz me through an email and let me know what u want and what the problem is!

Cheerio!

Contrary to what most of you think a jew man is regarding a guy that has no action or is a slacker towards girls, a Jew man used to be a taboo word dating back to the early 90's in most Federal universities in Nigeria. It basically has its origin from the rampant cases of cultism that was plaguing the nation in the 90's and early 2000.

Being a member of a cult group either eiye, bucca, vikkings, axe man or runs in general gave you that status to do and undo amongst your fellow peers. These guys would do anything to recruit more chaps into their various cults to become part of the gang. Now a fellow who wasnt part of any cult group was regarded as a "jew man" because he couldnt identify himself with any known cult or group. He was generally regarded as weak, incapable, physically impotent and not worth dicussing or engaging in the hustle and flow lifestyle in school. As the years began to roll, the word "Jew Man" began to take another dimension in a derogatory way to fuel the embers of hatred and war amongst other members of the other cults. If any eiye man was to meet another axe man, he would immediately address him as a 'jew man" hereby sparking off a gang war within days.

Word began to spread around that the usuage of the word "Jew Man" meant "not part of us, or weak or generally impotent either mentally, financially or physically". Girls began to make do with that word to humilate boys who were either club boys or aje butta boys or omo mummy and were not affiliated with any cult or general slackers. They dared not use that word in front of any tough guy or cult hence the number of slaps that would come her way.

The word was generally used in a hush tone through out and no one person could actually shout the word without any repercussion as to knowing who told them about the word or what it meant because it was a cult code and either your in or out. There is no middle fence. Identifying a "Jew Man" became easier in the late 90's and cultists used it to swell their ranks to cause mayhem until the advent of private schools began to take the shine of cultists generally.

Therefore the girl that called that guy a jew man should be asked where she got it from and if she has the liver, she should go to either LASU,OSU, OFFA POLY, IBADAN POLY, RSUT, NSUKKA or U.I to repeat that word in the open and see if her arms and legs are still functioning after 24 hours.

My e-mail has been jammed by nairalanders seeking to know how to register a trademark in Nigeria and other ancillary questions. So i am going to help you clear out the rough edges once and for all. Majority of the questions asked are as follows:

A. WHAT ARE THE GENERAL REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO REGISTER A TRADEMARK?:

1. Name search so that it doesnt conflict with any other trademark name:

This means that you have to choose a minimum of 3 names first before your trade mark application can be accessed in the trademark registery. E.g if you want to start a water bottling company and you have already designed the bottle and scientifically distilled the water and all you need is a catchy name and logo to identify your product, you need to select a name for the brand and logo. If you end up choosing 3 names which include (EVA-LINA, SWANIPA AND GOSSYER), The three names will be automatically rejected because Eva lina sounds similar to EVA Natural water, Swanipa, is similar to SWAN water and Gossypa is a knock -off of Gossy water.

So the name search is very important for a trademark to commence, so in most situations, companies fashion out 3-6 names that would probably survive registeration. (be creative and think out of the box). Also the other reasons names and trademarks are rejected include: Descriptiveness, Deceptiveness, Public Policy, Immorality, Similarly Registered Mark are common grounds on which trademarks application are refused.

Also the colour, lines and designs chosen by you as your logo should be distinct unless it would be rejected. E.g the addias famous trademark logo is 3 black stripes drawn in a vertical way. If you now use 2 single stripes in a vertical way and say you want to use it for a sport footwear as your logo, it will be rejected because Addidas 3 stripes has a priority over any other company that wants to use that kind of logo based on its distinctiveness. (So be creative once more when choosing marks, shapes, colour or objects as your logo)


2. The symbol or design e.g the nike swoosh sign or microsoft logo ( It must be drawn on a paper or thick transparent cloth also known as a bromide):

What this means is that after you have conceptualized the name and the logo for your product, before it can be accepted for registeration, it must be drawn on a paper. E.g lets say you went to a creative graphic designer to design a new logo for you, the printed version in colour or black or white should be reproduced in so many copies between 6-20 (Sorry i cant remember the amount again ) and it would be transfered to a thick transparent cloth called a bromide. The aim of this is to make sure the officials at the trademark office effectively access the originality of the logo and check whether it is conflicting with previously trademarked logos that might be similar. They also keep these bromides as a reference point for records.



3. Agents letter or form of authorization to file the trademark on your behalf (Usually done by lawyers):

This letter or Agent form of authorization is a major requirement of the trademark office for the registeration of the logo as a trademark. This is used to weed out those riff raffs that come around the trademark office to register a trademark in a false and dubious way and end up fraudulently decieving applicants off their money. It is a form that spells out the following:

Your name, nationality, address, passport photograph (2), company or individual registering it, the International class of goods to be registered (This International classes of goods means products and goods have been classified into various departments such as chemicals, soaps, detergents, insecticides etc as either Class 9 or shoes, jeans, shirts, trainers etc as either Class 5. It provides for a proper heading of the goods and under what class the logo should be classified under so as to make for easier registeration world wide), and finally a letter from the applicant to the agent (Mostly trademark lawyers) granting him the permission to register the trademark on behalf of you the applicant.

4. Filing fees and Stamp duties:

After the following requirements above has been thoroughly researched and scrutinized, the Trademark registery would now access the required fees to be paid and stamped accordingly. Evidence of the apyment of filing fees and stamping is a major requirement before it can be registered.

5. Cost of Filing:

I know this is the major question your interested in but to be frank, it is not fixed because it continues to fluctuate but be rest assured that it isnt more than #80,000 to #100,000 depending on what you need to trademark (Thats including legal fees and Filing fees and processing Fees. Any other lawyer charging more than that is pushing it). The reason for the legal fees added is because of the chaotic way Nigerians do things that ought to be done in a very easy way. Today most western countries do their trademark applications via online but in Naija, you have to first hustle and find your "connection guy" inside the trademark office  that would quickly help you do the name search asap, then hustle again with phone calls, settlement and transportation to the trademark office to search again if the logo does not contradict any form of deceptive practice. This could take weeks for them to respond because they might be telling you that "Oga never approve am yet. We still de research, come back next week" or we misplaced the passport photographs or when the Agent authorization form reached abuja, they discovered that the applicant did not sign properly so they are sending back to cross river so as to start the process all over again and a whole host of nonsense that is not worth the stress atimes (But wetin we go do now? Na naija we dey, lol )  


6: How long does it take to register the trademark:

Dont be decieved that it takes 3 months. Approximately it takes 2-3 years to obtain registration from date of filing the application due to the above enumerated delays. The good thing is that once the name search has been approved and the logo has been approved within 3-6 months, you can start using the trademark pending the final certificate that would be issued to you later on. Once the registration process has begun, the trademark is presumed to be yours. The down side of it is that until you have that certificate, you cannot claim priority of that trademark over anybody and the law states that the trademark certificate is the ultimate proof of ownership but these days due to the tough economic terrain in Nigeria, the registeration procedure could at least show that you have started a concrete procedure to own it and it is not due to your fault that you dont have the certificate.

The advantage of owning a trademark for your business is that you can use that logo or name as your branding name that could survive for generations. Think Microsoft, tastee fried chicken, dangote, Union Bank etc. You can easily have it on your letter headed papers, envelopes, staff uniforms, cars and everyother thing required to brand your business without having to spend thousands of Naira for extra P.R or publicity stunts to boost your image. The human mind is programmed to remember logos and trademarks more often better than names. Till you die, you will forever remember the NIKE Swoosh Logo.

Also the trademark has to be advertised in the trademark journal so that anyone that needs to oppose the registration process can raise an objection within 2 months it is published due to conflict of interest, public immorality or deceptiveness. Its after the advertisment that the process is complete and if no opposition, your certificate is on the way, Pronto!!!

7. My trademark is already known in europe and the Americas, must i still register it in Nigeria?:

Pertaining to the above question, The answer is Yes. The reason is because Nigeria although being a member of the Nice convention that ratified all trademarks done internationally as binding on every country that is a signatory to that treaty, Nigeria is still backwards in terms of obtaining records of trademarks registered internationally and it poses a problem trying to collate all the registered trademarks done in almost 140 countries except trademarks that are extremely famous and recognized internationally such as coke, nike, HP, Yahoo etc.


So to avoid this problem, the trademark has to be registered in Nigeria all over again. The advantage of this is that if you register it in Nigeria, you gain priorietary rights over everyone in Nigeria who intends to register it. E.g, its possible for you to say you are a representative of MacDonald in Nigeria having bought the franchise to be the sole representative of the fast food company and from nowhere, somebody comes out and claims that he is also the sole representative of MacDonald in Nigeria and goes as far as showing that he has registered the Golden Arch Trademark in Nigeria. That person will have priorietary rights to use that trademark in Nigeria over you. So it is advisable to register the trademark and avoid yourself further hassles and legal tussles that are totally unecessary and could be easily avoided. Microsoft Nigeria, Dunlop Nigeria, Ariel Nigeria etc all registered their trademarks in Nigeria despite the fact that they are internationally known products and easily recognizable.

8. How long is a trademark valid?:

The trademark is valid for 7 years from the date of application, renewable for further periods of 14 years.  
 

I. When can your Trademark be removed by the Trademark office:

It is necessary to note that a trademark may be taken off the register in any of the following circumstances:

i)non use, on the request of any person concerned, if it can be established that the mark was registered without any bona fide intention to use, and there has in fact been bona fide use of the trademark;

ii) it may be removed for non use during a continuous period of at least five years during which the trademark was registered.

iii)If the entry has been made in the register without sufficient cause.

iv)If an entry remains wrongly on the register

v)Non compliance to the  registrar’s statutory notice to renew by the registered proprietor


9. I am into services and not products, can i still register my services as a Trademark?:

Nope, its no longer called a trademark registeration for services but a Service mark which is being registerable now. A service mark is meant for companies that do not produce or deal with tangible goods but rely mostly on their services as their key products e.g consulting companies, employment agencies, advertising etc


Hope i have been able to answer your frequent questions on trademark registeration finally and if i get more info, i'll let ya know.

Cheers!

princess k:
so its no longer enough to do ambulance chasin at c.a.c it has reached nairaland seriously u need a word from the ethics commitee.this is embarassing to all lawyers. very sad.

@princess k

I have to confess, that after seeing austinobee's posts, i have to concur that its embarassing if he is a lawyer. Although its not wrong to deal with a professional and contact him to help you do a job, but the way and manner he is going out of his way to attract business to him from all aspects of the law is befuddling to say the least. A simple contact through his email privately would have been ok but not the full data of contact me at all cost.

Nairaland is a forum to educate everyone about issues that they arent conversant about and if you want people to hook up biz with you, just use your mail. The rest will take its natural course.

Abeg austino easy up and educate more. If they will do biz with you, you have to earn it not force it.

Cheers!