As Africa is rising as a business destination for more and more Finnish and European companies, more attention needs to be paid to trademark protection in African countries. Jani Kaulo shares four practical tips for companies for whom Africa is an interesting export market. 

On September 14, 2022, the International Trade Committee of ECTA (European Communities Trade Mark Association) organized a webinar with the special theme "IP in Africa". As a member of ECTA's supervisory board and the trade committee, Jani Kaulo actively follows the development of the trademark industry and practices in different countries, and also participated in this specially themed webinar. 

"It was an excellent webinar, and I would like to highlight and share the following four important perspectives and practical tips on trademark protection in Africa, as brought up by Mr. Marius Schneider from Mauritius”:

1. Protect visual elements

Word mark is very important to register but do not forget the device mark (e.g., logo with visual elements), especially in Africa, where the literacy rate is only 70 %. Many potential customers can only differentiate trademarks from their visual elements.

2. Apply for protection in transit countries as well

When filing trademark applications in African countries, do not forget the transit countries through which your products are transported to the target market. For example, goods to Nigeria can be transported through Benin and Togo. Trademark protection in those countries is needed in order to avoid problems with the customs.

3. Keep the originals of the documents

Keep all original copies of all documents (e.g., registration certificates) for the future (at least scanned copies). Electronic system does not yet work that well in African countries.

4. Take care of the license recordal in the trademark register

In many African countries, trademark license must be recorded into the register in order to be effective against third parties. This is a tool to also act against counterfeiting and piracy on the continent.