1)      Intellectual property: this refers to those things which the human mind creates or makes by application and use of his intellect or creative genius. Intellectual property are protected by law in forms such as trademark/servicemark, copyright, patent, designs, rights e.t.c , this enables businesses benefit from what they invent or create. Intellectual property rights are managed by the Nigerian copyright commission supervised by the ministry of justice. For details and enquiries on intellectual property protection, registration of trademarks, patents, copyright, designs…..you can visit www.iponigeria.com ; the official website of trademark, patent, designs registry, commercial law department, Federal ministry trade and investment Nigeria .

2)      Trademark/ servicemark:  maybe a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, image or combination of these that distinguishes a company’s products or services. Trademark/servicemark is a proprietary term registered with the relevant regulatory body, it is adopted and used by a merchant, manufacturer or service provider to differentiate his/her goods/services from that of others. The exclusive rights after registration spans over 7 years after which subsequent renewals will be required. 

3)      Copyright: this is a legal monopoly that protects published or unpublished original work from unauthorized duplication without due credit and compensation. Copyrights cover literary and artistic works such as novels, articles, poems, plays, films, letters, labels, emails musical works – lyrics, artistic works such as drawing, paintings, graphic designs, advertisements, photographs and sculptures as well as architectural designs e.t.c

4)      Industrial design right: this right protects the form of appearance, style or design of an industrial object from infringement. Registration of a design is valid for 5 years after which initial registration can be renewed .The right of registration is assigned to the person who is first to file an application for registration whether or not he/she is the true creator.

5)      Patent: this is an exclusive right granted to an inventor of a product or process, this legal right establishes for the holder of the patent the right to be the sole user or producer of a new process or product over a limited period of time (20 years in Nigeria). The right to exclusive use of a patent is granted to the person who is first to file or validly claim overall authority for application with respect to the invented process or product. A patent granted prevents others from making, using, selling, stocking, distributing or applying the process or product without permission.