What is a SANi combination trademark?
A SANi combination trademark secures a trademark in South Africa and a trademark in Nigeria. South Africa and Nigeria are the largest economies in sub-Saharan Africa and combining these countries covers a territory with a greater GDP and population than either the ARIPO or OAPI trademarks.
The SANi combination trademark is the best option for Africa.
| South Africa | Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Free complimentary search (without opinion) | Free complimentary search (without opinion) |
| Time to grant | +- 2 years | +- 2 years |
| Multi-class trademarks | No. One class per trademark application | No. One class per trademark application |
| Type of registration certificate | Electronic | Paper |
Procedure
SANi combination trademarks are available through S&Z Patent Attorneys at a fixed cost.
Upon instructing a SANi combination trademark, you will receive complimentary cursory search reports (without an opinion) detailing similar trademarks identified by the South Africa and Nigerian Trademarks Offices’ search systems.
Separate trademark applications are filed in South Africa and Nigeria, so a complication in one of the countries will not affect the other.
South African and Nigerian trademark law is relatively similar: only one class is permitted per trademark application; and the time from filing to grant is about 2 years.
If additional SANi combination trademark applications are required for additional classes (same mark), the cost of each additional application is reduced.
During prosecution, responses to routine office actions (i.e. submitting outstanding documents; association of marks; disclaimer; admission; endorsing the meaning) are submitted at no additional cost.
Cost
| First SANi combination trademark application: | $999 |
| Additional SANi combination trademark application (additional class, same mark): | $849 |
SANi trademark pricing includes: professional fees, official fees, filing, responses to routine office actions, acceptance, publication, grant, issuance of the certificates and courier.
Additional cost will only be incurred if a trademark application is refused or opposed.
Good alternative options
| Countries | GDP | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SANi | 2 | $860.70 bill. | 271.44 mill. |
| ARIPO | 13 | $209.52 bill. | 192.29 mill. |
| OAPI | 17 | 307.06 bill. | 212.46 mill. |
Whereas, an OAPI trademark covers the same countries as an OAPI patent (i.e. Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, the Niger, Senegal and Togo), an ARIPO trademark only covers 13 of the 20 ARIPO member States (i.e. Botswana, Cape Verde, Kingdom of Eswatini, The Gambia, Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe).
For comprehensive trademark protection across Africa, file a SANi+ trademark, which combines the a SANi combination trademark with ARIPO and/or OAPI trademarks.
[The SANi trademark is not the creation of a Treaty]