Legal Issues for

Entrepreneurs

Maxwell Ayodele Olokundun

Covenant university
 Learning Objectives
 At the end of the class students should learn the
following concepts as it relates to entrepreneurs:
 Intellectual Property:
 1) Patent
 2) Trade mark
 3) Copyrights
 4) Trade secrets
 Students should also learn the need for licensing
and the importance of a Lawyer to a business
and the selection of a competent Business Lawyer
 Intellectual Property
 IP includes patents, trademarks,
copyrights, and trade secrets. They
represent important legal assets to
the entrepreneur.
 What is a Patent?
 A Patent refers to a contract between the
government and an inventor
 Govt. grants the inventor exclusive rights
regarding inventions for a specific time-
period
 It is “Property” right to exclude others
 It is “Territorial” provides protection only
within a country e.g Nigeria. No World Wide
Patent.
 The patentee is empowered by law enforce
the patent once it is granted
 Provisional Applications
 Utility 20 years Term (from filling)
 Design 14 years Term (from filling)
 Plant 20 years Term (from filling)
 Utility Patents
 It grants the owner protection from
anyone else making use or selling the
invention. It generally reflects protection
of new, useful, and unobvious process
such as film developing, machines such as
photocopier, compound or mixture of
ingredients, articles, and manufacture of
goods such as toothpaste.
 Design Patent
 It covers new original ornamental
and unobvious designs for articles of
a manufactured product.
 Plant Patent
 They are issued under the same
provisions as utility patents and are
usually for new species of plants.
These patents represent a limited
area of interest, thus only very few
of these types of patents are granted
 Trademarks
 A trademark may be represented by
a word, symbol, design, or some
combination of such. It could also be
a slogan or even a peculiar sound
that identifies the source or
sponsorship of certain products.
 TM is usually given an initial 20 year
registration with 20 years un-
renewable terms
 Copyrights
 A copyright protects original works of
authorship. However the protection
in a copyright doesn't protect the
idea itself.
 It gives room for another individual
to use the idea or concept in a
different manner
 Trade Secrets
 In some cases the entrepreneur may
choose or prefer to maintain an idea
or process as confidential and to sell
or license it as a trade secret.
 The life span of a Trade secret stays
as long as the idea or process
remains a secret.
 Licensing
 Licensing involves an arrangement
between two parties, where one party has
proprietary rights over some information,
process or technology protected by a
patent, trademark, copyright.
 This arrangement may require the license
to pay a royalty or some other specified
sum to the holder of the proprietary rights
(licensor) in return for permission to copy
the patent, trademark, or copyright.
 Need for a Lawyer
 Legal expertise or services required
may vary based on the kind of
business e.g a franchise, an
independent start-up or a buy out,
consumer or industrial products,
Non-profit or profit oriented, e.t.c
 How to Select a Lawyer?
 Lawyers are usually specialist in the
specific areas of law
 However a competent attorney is in
should understand all possible
circumstances and outcomes related
to any legal actions
 How to Select a Lawyer?
 Fees payment and concern
 May also work on Retainer basis
(stated amount per month or per
year)
 Thank you