Passing Off in Nigeria: The Unregistered Mark’s Protection and the Jurisdiction Controversy

A small-batch pepper sauce producer in Port Harcourt spends four years building a loyal customer base around her brand's distinctive green-and-white label with the handwritten-style logo. She has never registered the mark. A distributor in Warri begins selling a similar product using almost identical packaging in the same markets, trading on the reputation she has built. She has no registered trademark to sue on. Does she have any legal remedy? The answer is yes, through the common law action for passing off, one of the oldest forms of intellectual property protection in the common law world and one that exists entirely...