Geographical Indication (GI) options for Ethiopian Coffee and Ghanaian Cocoa

A Consideration of Communal Trademarks
Existing knowledge of IP
It was clear from the data gathered that knowledge of trademarks was poor at all
levels in the three clusters surveyed. But for a few ordinary (non-communal) trademarks
officially registered in accordance with the Nigerian Trade Marks Act in the
Kano leather tannery sector, and the printing of business names on packaging bags
for textiles at Itoku-Abeokuta, there was a total absence of IP protection for the
designs of the clusters surveyed. There were no instances found of registration of a
communal trademark. 2 Design theft was found to be endemic in the clusters and
a cause of concern for many. While entrepreneurs in Aba were seeking to protect
their designs or labels by registering them with their local unions, this provided
only limited protection – as it only extended to those operating within the jurisdiction
of the unions. It was found that non-union members often copied such registered
designs without incurring repercussions or liability from the registered owner.
Most of the respondents across the three clusters struggled to conceive of a
suitable communal trademark. Meanwhile, only 12.2% had their businesses registered
with the relevant government agencies. Despite the lack of existing knowledge
of communal trademark modalities, the majority of respondents expressed
willingness to participate in any collaborative trademarking strategy targeted
towards standardising quality and price and improving market access. Roughly
80% of respondents favoured a model that would permit the use of common
marks in addition to their personal packaging designs and labels.
Market challenges
It was found that the Kano leather tanners and Aba shoemakers produced for
both local markets and markets in neighbouring countries. The Aba shoemakers
sampled claimed to have clients both domestically and in neighbouring countries,
with more than half of the leather products from Aba designated for export. But
the Kano and Aba products were generally not performing well in these markets,
in spite of the distinctiveness of some of the products, e.g. products made from red
goat skin. The Itoku-Abeokuta textile enterprises surveyed said they had a diversified
clientele, both within and beyond the African continent. Across the three
clusters, 95.5% of respondents identified competition from foreign products –
2 At the same time, it must be noted that the study was not sufficiently in-depth as to be able
to make a categorical conclusion that there is no single instance of registration of a communal
trademark in Nigeria under the Trade Marks Act, with the greatest challenge in confirming
this position being the lack of a proper and organised database for registered trademarks
in Nigeria. This study was also not able to draw conclusions regarding the volume of use of
unregistered trademarks.
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