Patent Rights in the Sports Industry

A trademark is a distinctive sign that identifies certain goods or services produced or provided by an individual or a company and distinguishes same from others. Trade mark is a symbol or sign which differentiates the goods and services of one business from another one although they may operate in horizontal business within or without the same community. Trademark is an indicative medium relied upon by consumers to create an imaginary link between a product on which such mark is used and its seller. Its major hallmark is its ability to differentiate the goods of one seller from those of others in the same line of business from one. Trademark in Nigeria is governed by the Trade Marks Act, Cap T 13, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (hereinafter referred to as Trademark Act) and the Trademark Regulations 1990. In contributing to existing literature, the paper examines the economic aspect of mark registration in the sports industry. It examines registrable marks and identifies the possibility of registration under existing treatises globally. The paper concludes with salient recommendations toward harnessing the economic aspect of trade mark registration in the Nigerian sports industry.