Trademark registration in Sierra Leone

Registration of trademark in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a state in Africa with developing economic sector. An entrepreneur who starts activities in the territory of this country will always find qualified employees and wide audience for the sale of goods or the provision services.

Conducting trade is prohibited without special permission in the region.

Registration of trademark in Sierra Leone is one of the services provided by Law&Trust. Professional lawyers offer free consultation, as well as comprehensive legal support for the entire process of preparing documentation for sending to the foreign commission in order to be considered.

Operating companies and individuals can obtain permission for entrepreneurial activities in Sierra Leone. There are three procedures for registering trademark to be applied by the clients, namely:

1. National one. The application for trademark is submitted according to simplified scheme with minimum standard package of documents. The consideration takes not more than one year, but the trademark will have legal force only in the territory of Sierra Leone. In order to expand business to the neighboring states, it is required to re-submit application with similar package of official documents to the foreign commission.

2. Regional one. Sierra Leone is a member of the APIRO Commission, which is engaged in the protection of intellectual property rights. The system unites 18 English-speaking republics of Africa, therefore, when submitting the application according to this procedure, it is possible to register trademark in all countries simultaneously. The commission carries out formal verification of the uniqueness of the company's logo for compliance with the emblems of organizations in all 18 countries, and the package of documents should comply with the regulations of all the participating states of the APIRO.

3. International one. In 2015, Sierra Leone became part of the world economic union by signing the Madrid Agreement and the Protocol. In view of the foregoing circumstance, the applicant can register trademark in 97 countries of the world by collecting one set of documents. The procedure requires more responsible approach than others. Thorough verification of the logo for plagiarism or copied parts is carried out, and it is necessary to attach the list of goods or services specific to your company to the official documents. The list is compiled according to special classification protocol.

What is the cost for registering a brand name in Sierra Leone?

The price of the service depends on the selected procedure for registration of trademark, the category of the applicant and other factors. The list of documents has particular impact on the cost, and it consists of several items for individuals and extended list for large-scale corporations with the presence of branches, investors, etc.

It is possible to receive detailed information regarding the issue by contacting our lawyer.