ENSafrica Intellectual Property (IP)

ENSafrica manages the heftiest multinational IP instructions with poise World Trademark Review 1000

ENSafrica’s large, dedicated IP practice has extensive experience in providing the full spectrum of specialist IP advice to a wide range of internationally-renowned clients.

We are essentially a full-service boutique IP firm within a large, full-service corporate law firm, and we work in partnership with our clients to solve their most complex legal challenges in a world where IP is increasingly becoming an integral part of corporate transactions and the most valuable asset owned by any company.

Our key differentiator is that we offer a holistic, integrated IP service that is commercially focused, tailored to your unique requirements, and sensitive to an array of legal and tax complexities.

Through a deep understanding of your business and your objectives, we can help you to successfully manage and extract value from your IP assets while minimising your legal and regulatory risks.

We have one of the strongest and fastest growing commercial IP offerings in Africa, and our patent attorneys (holding a variety of science degrees) and trade mark practitioners are considered leaders in their fields.

We advise on all aspects of non-contentious and contentious trade mark and copyright matters, including the creation, protection and maintenance of trade marks, copyright and domain names, litigation in the areas of trade marks, copyright, company names, domain names, advertising, passing-off, unlawful competition, and licensing and franchising.

When it comes to patent and registered design advice, our specialist teams can guide you from the conception of your idea to the protection, enforcement and commercialisation of your patents and designs.

We have the unique advantage, as part of Africa’s largest law firm, of being able to harness the expertise of more than 600 practitioners throughout the continent. ENSafrica has a significant breadth and depth of experience and specialist expertise that spans all commercial areas of law, tax, forensics and IP.

As such, we regularly partner with specialists across the firm, meaning that we are able to assist with all aspects of all matters across all sectors in all African jurisdictions, ensuring that your legal requirements are handled quickly and seamlessly.

• IP commercial, transactional and advisory services• trade marks• copyright• patents• registered designs• domain names• advertising law

being a full-service firm, it can provide its IP counsel with invaluable commercial and tax law insights; rights holders overwhelmed by a panoply of problems can pick up the phone and have all of them dealt with expediently IAM Patent 1000

established player in this sector, valued for its long-standing expertise in handling a range of IP concerns for an enviable portfolio of domestic and international companiesChambers Global

the quality of their work is top-rate and they provide very strategic and cost-effective advice... it is a great firm that provides wonderful service and can handle a range of jurisdictionsChambers Global

PATENT PROSECUTION Successful prosecution of international patents, including granted patents in Australia, Europe, South Africa and the USA for an elevator advertising/signage firm, enabling it to establish a global licensing business.

PATENT PROSECUTION Successful prosecution of large international patent portfolios, including granted patents in ARIPO, Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA for a multinational mining company.

IP ASSET ADVICE Advice on IP assets and other related matters provided to a manufacturer of preservation technologies used in marketing and exporting fresh produce as part of a large equity transaction and ongoing management and prosecution of its international trade mark and patent portfolios.

AFRICAN IP PORTFOLIO African IP portfolio advice provided to a financial media giant. (Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo, Uganda.)

AFRICAN IP ADVICE African IP advice provided to a major international publishing house. (Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Seychelles.)

WORLDWIDE TRADE MARK PORTFOLIO Worldwide trade mark portfolio management provided to a major African mobile telecommunications company, and Africa’s most valuable brand.

WORLDWIDE IP PORTFOLIO Worldwide IP portfolio management of Africa’s largest insurer. (Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.)

AFRICAN IP ADVICE African IP advice provided to a large international bio-based company which manufactures some of the world’s most popular chocolate products.

TRADE MARK AND PATENT ADVICE Trade mark and patent advice for a manufacturer and supplier of geosynthetic products and solutions across Africa, Asia, Europe and the USA, regarding its geo-container bag application for the protection of coastal environments.

OFF-SHORE IP STRUCTURINGAdvice on structuring of off-shore IP and exploiting of intra-group IP assets provided to various clients in collaboration with ENSafrica’s tax team.

Gaelyn ScottExecutivegscott@ENSafrica.com

its lawyers are efficient, proactive and consistent in their approach; their turnaround time is impeccable World Trademark Review 1000