ABSTRACT
The Trademark Act of Nigeria 1965 is profoundly in need of reform. The Act in its present state slows down the market activities it seeks to regulate. The scope of trademarks registration remains narrow and rigid. Registration is restricted to conventional trademarks at the detriment of nonconventional trademarks which has become more prominent with advancement in technology and also visible in cultural symbols based on traditional knowledge from traditional communities in Nigeria. The world is at a point where digital technology has surpassed what it was a few decades ago and there are steps toward restoring the value of traditional knowledge. Indeed, the registration of trademarks linked to digital technology or traditional knowledge is valuable legal protection. Conversely, trademarks are regarded as having limited protection with minimal assistance in marketing virtual models of products used in an infringing manner online and traditional knowledge deemed to be of a communal nature amongst others. Nevertheless, the Trademarks Act of Nigeria is still in the era in which it was created for the territory (United Kingdom) it was borrowed from over five decades ago; without extending its scope of protection. Trademarks law in the United Kingdom has since moved on with the times, tailing the development of technology as well as facing the challenges that come with it. In reforming trademarks law in Nigeria, this article proposes that marks reflecting the past, present and future must be thoroughly explored and appropriate solutions from an Afrocentric perspective of looking within must be pursued.
