Intellectual Property and Brand Protection in the Food and Spice Industry | Infusion Lawyers
- The information must be secret (i.e. it is not generally known among, or readily accessible to, circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question);
- It must have commercial value because it is a secret; and
- It must have been subject to reasonable steps by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret (e.g., through confidentiality agreements).
- new;
- results from an inventive activity;
- capable of industrial application; and
-
constitute an improvement upon a patented invention and also new, results from inventive activity, and is capable of industrial application.The statutory requirements above seem daunting for food and spice businesses since patent focuses more on processes and new chemical compounds.
- the name of the company, individual, or firm represented in a special manner;
- the applicant’s signature;
- an invented word or invented words;
- a word or words having no direct reference to the character or quality of the goods and not being in accordance to its ordinary signification, a geographical name or a surname; and
- any other distinctive mark.
- which type or types of amongst the intellectual property identified above applies (or apply) to your food and spice business;
- whether any of your food and spice products, food-processing, or spice-making processes is eligible for protection; and
- how best to go about the process of registering, managing, monitoring, and maximizing your intellectual property in the identified food and spice products, food-processing methods, or spice-making processes eligible for protection to grow and expand your food and spice business and gain market share in the industry.
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Bill Tracker – Nigeria Police Reform Bill 2019
2019, the Nigerian Senate passed the much awaited Police Reform Bill, 2019. The
Bill seeks to amend the Police Act which had been drafted since the 1960s but has
never been amended. According to experts the Police Act is out of tune with
current realities and requires urgent amendment. The Senate Bill has been forwarded to the
House of Representatives for concurrence before it may be forwarded to the
President for his assent. This post seeks to enlighten you about some of the
relevant provisions in the Police Reform Bill including –
of the Bill
To ensure a people
friendly Nigerian Police which embodies the values of accountability, fairness,
justice and equity in Police operations;
Ensure Police
responsiveness;
Ensure respect by
Police of the dignity of all persons;
Safeguard of the
fundamental rights as contained in the Constitution;
Fostering cooperation
and partnerships between the Police and the communities it serves;
Promote the respect
for victims of crime and an understanding of their needs.
of the Police
the duties of the Police include the prevention and detection of crime, the
apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of
life and property and the due
enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly
charged, and shall perform such military
duties within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them by, or under the authority of this or
any other Act.
additional duties to include;
i.
Protection of the
rights and freedom of every person in Nigeria as provided in the Constitution,
the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right, and any other law;
ii.
Provision of humanitarian
assistance for citizen(s), facilitation of movement on highways etc. without
subjecting citizens to extortion, and adoption of communist partnerships.
iii.
Adoption of community
partnership in the performance of the duties provided under this section
of Inspector General
procedure and qualification requirements for the person to be appointed as IGP,
such officer must be a Senior Police Officer not below the rank of an Assistant
Inspector General of Police with the requisite academic qualifications of not
less than a first degree or its equivalent in addition to professional and
management experience. Also upon appointment, the Bill proposes that the IGP
will have a 5-year tenure.
the IGP, which includes development of a yearly financial plan for the Police
and establishment of Police training centres.
to establish community police fora in the States under their command subject to
the directions of the State Governor.
of the Police
Clause
20 of the Bill attempts to qualify the power of prosecution in section 23 of
the Act by subjecting the police officer’s power to conduct prosecutions to
relevant criminal procedure laws in force at the federal level and in a state
regarding prosecution by nonqualified legal practitioners. It further requires
that every Police Division have at least one police officer that is qualified
to practice as legal practitioner.
Clause
25 requires that persons arrested are taken into custody before taking such
persons before a court of competent jurisdiction with respect to the offence
with which he is charged. Same of which must be done as soon as practicable.
The Clause also stipulates further provisions for bail.
Clause
26 provides for cases where the Police can apply for extension of detention or
remand of a suspect i.e. to preserve evidence or interrogate him/ her. In such
cases, the Police can apply to the court pursuant to section 293 of ACJA. Such
application must be made within 48 hours of the arrest. The Court must also
determine such application within 48 hours.
Clause
29 provides for powers to search premises and includes a prohibition on
violation of human rights in the course of the search.
Clause
30 makes provisions on search warrant safeguards i.e. provisions on conditions
to be satisfied before a search warrant can be issued e.g. the grounds for the
warrant, the premises to be searched, etc.
Clause
31 provides for issue and execution of search warrants and its endorsement upon
execution.
Clause
32 provides for power to detain and search a suspected person or vehicle:
officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person is in possession of
or conveying anything the officer is believed to be stolen or unlawfully
obtained;
grounds for suspicion exists that such person or vehicle is carrying an
unlawful article;
grounds for suspicion that incidents involving serious violence may take place
within a locality;
has been received as to a description of an article being carried or of a
suspected offender; and
article at an unusual time or in a place where a number of burglaries or thefts
are known to have taken place recently It adds however in Clause 33 that
certain personal attributes shall not be grounds for reasonable suspicion,
including:
a person’s colour,
age, hairstyle or manner of dress;
previous conviction
for possession of an unlawful article; or
stereotyped images of
certain persons or groups as more likely to be committing offences.
Clause
34 provides for actions to be carried out by a police officer before a search
occurs i.e. the Officer must be in uniform and wear a visible Police identity
card and must inform the person in charge of the vehicle of his/her name,
police station, object and grounds of the search.
Clause
36 mandates the Officer to record details of the search and provide a copy to
the person to be searched while Clause 37 provides for a National Search Record
Form containing details of a search.
Clause
38 provides for powers to take fingerprints, photographs, measurements.
contained in section 15 of ACJA. Unlike
ACJA, the bill however further requires the Police to store such fingerprint
impressions and measurements in a retrievable format and hand over to a suspect
who has been discharged or acquitted. It also requires a police officer to
approach a court to compel a suspect in lawful custody who refuses to submit him/herself
for such records to be taken.
Rallies & Processions
of Police or the Commissioner of Police or their lawful delegates from
unreasonably disallowing members of the public, the right to hold peaceful
rallies, processions and assemblies in public highways, buildings or spaces.
to provide security cover for such meeting, rally or procession. In cases where
the organisation decides to proceed with a rally against Police advice, the
Police is required to obtain a court order to prevent the rally- Clause 39(5.)
Policing Forums
police forums, divisional and state community police boards to maintain
partnership between the community and the Police, promote communication,
improve rendering of police service, promote co-operation and improve
transparency and accountability in the provision of police services.
local community in the state of jurisdiction.
stated are to:
community and the Police;
Police and the community;
and the community in fulfilling the needs of the community regarding policing;
the community; and
the provision of police services to the community.
prevent Police liaison with the community by means other than Community Police
Forums and Boards.
Public Complaints and Discipline
Response Unit to receive complaints about police misconduct from the public or
other police officers. The Bill also looks to enshrine the existing Police
Complaints Unit within the legal framework governing the Police and provides a
procedure for investigations. It mandates the Inspector-General of Police to
establish a Police Complaints Response Unit in each of the Police Commands in
all the State of Federation.
investigations initiated by the unit as well as conduct investigations. The Unit may receive: »» any complaint
alleging that the conduct complained of resulted in the death or serious injury
or other gross human rights violation; »» any complaint showing that a police
officer is involved in an act constituting professional misconduct. – If the
investigations reveal a criminal offence, a copy of the report shall be sent to
the Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution. – If it is an offence
against discipline, it shall be sent to the appropriate Police or oversight
authority for proper disciplinary action – If it reveals false information
against a police officer, then the complainant shall be tried according to
relevant laws in force.
Further reading see PLAC
( Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) is a Non-Governmental Organisation
Promoting Good Governance and Citizen’s Access in Nigeria)
The Business Of Law Practice/ What Law School Does Not Teach You | Olivia Muzan Esq.
Olivia C Muzan
Oliviacorinimuzan.wordpress.com
oliviacorini7@gmail.com
I Am Being Prosecuted For Professional Fees | Paul Usoro SAN
Tips For Your Uber Car Hire Agreements
Family Law Tip – What is Condonation?
Legal Term Via Babalola Law Dictionary
Legal Term – Oust
Learn & Share via @babalolalawdictionary
.
#law #legal #blawg #just #legalnaija #babalolalawdictionary #oust
Cyber –Squatting In Nigeria | Madu Blessing
a global village. It has revolved around
technology and the internet. With the advent of internet, individuals can establish
various businesses and register such business online and in doing so, they maintain
a personal or official domain name.
A domain name is a unique name that an
individual or organization chooses to identify its website. Every website has a
domain name which comprises of a registered internet protocol (IP) address. An
example is www.legalnaija.com. Since customers and clients try to find businesses
online, some individuals register this domain names identical to the company’s
or individual trademarks and then attempts to sell to its owner. These
individuals are known as cyber-squatters. Cyber-squatters have robbed
businesses of their fortune and it is a threat to legitimate business owners in
this digital era.
squatting is the act of registering or using a domain name in bad faith. The
person who registers this domain name has no affiliation with such name. It is
usually done with the intention of making profits by selling to its owners.
cyber- squatting. The usual targets are however, businesses, Politicians and
celebrities. Some famous cases of cyber-squatting are Linda Ikeji, Donald
Trump, Konga, eBay and so on.
issue in Information and Comunications Technology and its far reaching
implications has brought about a need to regulate this problem. In 2015, the Cybercrimes (Prevention, Prohibition, e.t.c)
Act brought about a framework that governed various aspects of online activities
including cyber-squatting.
defined in Section 58 as the
acquisition of a domain name over the internet in bad faith to profit, mislead,
destroy reputation and deprive others from registering same if such domain name
is;
Similar,
identical, or confusingly similar to an existing trademark registered with the
appropriate government agency at the time of the domain name registration
identical or in any way
similar with the name of a person other than the registrant, in case of a
personal name; and
acquired without right or
with intellectual property interests in it.
where, C buys cowbell.com, when the company has not yet created a website and C
thereafter sells to cowbell at a later date for profit. Another example is
where, my name is Madu Blessing. I am a prolific writer and my books are best
sellers. A, registers a domain with the name www.madublessing.com. If A’s reason for
doing so is to;
profit financially
mislead the public
destroy my reputation as a writer or
individual
deprive me from registering same
a cyber-squatter.
25(1) of the Act stipulated the punishment for cyber-squatters
and it provides thus:
business name, trademark, domain name or other word or phrase registered, owned
or in use by any individual, body corporate or belonging to either the Federal,
State or Local Government in Nigeria, on the internet or any other computer
network, without authority or right, and for the purpose of interfering with
their use by the owner, registrant or legitimate prior user, commits an offence
under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not
more than 2 years or a fine of not more than =N5,000,000.00 or both.”
ingredients to note here is that;
the offender must have an intention to
interfere with the owners name , business name,
trademark, and domain name
the owners name , business name, trademark, and domain name must be owned or be in use
by the owner
the act must have been carried out in the
internet or any computer network
the act must have been without authority
discretion when awarding penalties against convicted offenders. Section 25(2) further stipulates what a
court must take into consideration when awarding penalty. The court considers;
refusal
by the offender to relinquish, upon formal request by the rightful owner of the
name, business name, trademark, domain name or
an
attempt by the offender to obtain compensation in any form for the release to
the rightful owner for use of the name, business name, trademark, domain name
addition to the penalty specified under this section, the court may make an
order directing the offender to relinquish such registered name, mark,
trademark, domain name, or other word or phrase to the rightful owner.
can victims protect themselves from cyber-squatters?
are numerous ways a victim can protect himself from cyber-squatters and they
are;
a complaint at Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) –
ICANN makes use of UDRP (Uniform Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy). This is an online dispute resolution
mechanism that handles ownership of domain name disputes. The owner of a domain
name can file a complaint before ICANN accredited dispute resolution service
provider. ICANN would either cancel such domain name or order that it be
transferred to the rightful owner. Some conditions must be fulfilled before a
complaint may be made to UDRP and they are;
the domain name must be identical or
similar to an existing trademark or service mark in which the complainant has
rights
the complainant must prove that the cyber-squatter
has no rights or legitimate interest in the domain name
the domain name has been registered and it
is been used in bad faith.
of a registered trademark that can successfully file a complaint. Complaints
can only be brought by those whose
domain name is gTLD (generic top level domains) or Country code top-level
domains.
under Nigeria Internet Registration Association( NIRA)
Registry for .ng domain names. The owner of a domain name may institute his
action at NIRA if his domain name is a ccTLD and ends with .ng. It has its own
dispute resolution policies and rules. The conditions to be satisfied before a
complaint is brought and the remedies available are same as bringing an action
under ICANN.
Proceedings under the Cyber CrimesAct
criminal offence and it is prohibited under Section 25. Cyber-squatters are
liable to imprisonment of two years or a fine of N5, 000,000 or both. To
institute an action, the domain name owner does not need to have a trademark so
long as his registered business name is the domain name. The complainant is
required to file an action with the police before an action can be commenced.
The court exercises its discretion in awarding penalty.
an action under Civil Wrong
across several areas of law including Intellectual Property, Trademark, Passing
off, and Deceit and so on. An action can be instituted under the Trade Marks
Act because the Act accommodates actions arising from domain name disputes and
cyber-squatting where the domain name is a registered trademark.
only regarded as a crime but it is seen as a serious threat to business. Thus,
to prevent cyber-squatting, business owners should secure their domain names by
registering their trademarks at the start of business before it is too late.
Blessing .C. Madu