FASTEST INCORPORATION, WEAK PROTECTION: NIGERIA’S APPROACH TO DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL BRAND PROTECTION

“The registration of a company in Nigeria offers numerous benefits to business owners, including legal recognition, investor confidence, and easier access to credit facilities. However, a common misconception among entrepreneurs is that registering a company with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) automatically grants exclusive rights to the use of the company’s name. This belief likely stems from the CAC’s statutory duty to refuse applications that bear names identical to or closely resembling those of existing companies”.

A critical question arises where the registered trademark of a foreign company or brand conflicts with the name of a company registered in Nigeria: who does the law protect? Does company registration with the CAC alone confer exclusive ownership of a brand name, or does trademark registration hold superior protection?

This article examines recent responses by statutory bodies, alongside judicial decisions on such conflicts, and offers practical guidance on how both local and foreign businesses can protect their brand identities in Nigeria.

Case illustration: Fastestcakes & Fastestcakes

Fastestcakes, a well-known cake brand in Lagos, registered its trademark in 2021 and has since built a reputation for beautifully crafted cakes. In March 2025, the company expanded its operations to Ibadan, only to discover that another baker there was also trading under the name Fastestcakes.

The Ibadan baker, unaware of the existing trademark, had recently registered her business name with the CAC on April 3, 2025. However, under Nigerian law, a registered trademark enjoys nationwide protection, irrespective of the geographical area in which the business operates.

Upon discovering the conflict, the original Fastestcakes lodged a formal complaint with the CAC, providing evidence of its prior trademark registration. In response, the CAC issued a delisting notice to the Ibadan baker on July 9, 2025, directing her to change the infringing name within six weeks pursuant to Section 30(4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

Sanofi S.A v. Sanofi Nigeria Enterprise & 2 Ors. (2024)

A similar issue played out in this case, where Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical giant, petitioned the CAC to compel three Nigerian companies to drop “Sanofi” from their names. Sanofi argued that the inclusion of its well-known registered trademark SANOFI in the companies’ names infringed on its trademark rights and goodwill.

The CAC agreed, but the Nigerian companies ignored the directive, leading Sanofi to initiate court proceedings.

The Federal High Court upheld the CAC’s decision, awarded damages against the Nigerian companies, and ordered the CAC to deregister the companies if they didn’t comply within two weeks. Although the CAC primarily relied on Section 30(4) of CAMA in issuing the delisting notice to Fastestcakes, Nigerian courts have also begun reinforcing this principle through judicial rulings.

Comments

The above regulatory notice, as well as the judgment, shows that mere registration of a business name with the CAC does not confer exclusive rights over that name. Without trademark registration, a business or company risks losing the goodwill and investments tied to its brand, notwithstanding that the name has been duly registered with the CAC.

Accordingly, business entities, particularly foreign-owned companies, must, in addition to registering with the CAC, take adequate steps to protect their brand identity by registering their business or corporate names as trademarks. This remains the only effective means of securing complete protection for a brand in Nigeria.

It is further recommended that the CAC and the Trademarks Registry establish a harmonized database, as obtainable in other jurisdictions. Such a system would enable both agencies to verify, at the point of registration, whether a proposed company name is already a registered trademark. This will give effect and practical credence to Section 852 of CAMA 2020, which prohibits the CAC from registering any company or business with a name that, in its opinion, is identical to or likely to conflict with an existing company name in Nigeria.

Information take from: Trademark Law Magazine: https://trademarklawyermagazine.com/fastest-incorporation-weak-protection-nigerias-approach-to-domestic-and-international-brand-protection/

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