Hiring an Intellectual Property Lawyer in Nigeria

It is standard for inventors in Nigeria to hire a certified patent specialist for their patent applications, which is why the services of Nigeria intellectual property attorneys are valuable. The specialist, however, must be familiar with technology and science.

Inventors use lawyers to prosecute and prepare their documents over concern about the proper protection of invention rights. The process of prosecution is complicated, and requires extensive research. Moreover, the patent application should be written in an arcane format and style.

Some of the tasks for the patent attorneys include:

• Determining an item’s patentability, including innovativeness, usefulness, being non-obvious, and novel;
• Documenting, creating, and filing the documents, including claims, descriptions, drawings, and any other forms;
• Filing the provisional or regular patent application;
• Doing patent research, especially the existence of possible patent infringements; and
• Paying the appropriate patent application fees, among other tasks.

Nigeria patent and trademark attorneys, to properly represent an inventor, should communicate with the inventor in the inventor’s technical language. Thus, a certification process is in place for patent agents and patent attorneys. However, patent agents may not represent parties under litigation or perform activities regarding law practice.

The DIY Application Process

When filing patents, the best idea is always to hire patent attorneys, although you can do the filing yourself. You can file your PPA (provisional patent application) and your regular patent application. The PPA, of the two applications, can be easily filed. The PPA, while informal in nature, should still describe properly how to create and utilize the invention.

Time. When you do the patent application yourself, you have to be prepared for hours of reading and research. Check for prior inventions. You also need time to create drawings and write. It can take hundreds of hours to facilitate one patent application.

Writing. You should also be a competent writer. While you have to write clearly, you must also utilize arcane terminology.

Project Management. You need project management skills as you should carefully manage a complicated project from beginning to end. Meanwhile, you should be able to meet deadlines. An example would be filing your application within one year of the invention’s initial public sale.

Drafting the PPA

The PPA is usually fewer than 10 pages, and it’s written in an informal manner. Technical or academic journal articles are usually enough as long as the document describes how to create and use the product. The PPA’s accompanying drawings may also be informal.

While costly, using the services of a patent attorney in Nigeria can provide protection and security. The cost also is outweighed by the advice and counsel given by an expert.