A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday made an order of perpetual injunction restraining eNaira Payment Solutions Ltd from parading itself as the registered proprietor of the “eNaira” trademark.
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The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment, also granted the counterclaims of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and awarded the sum of N10 million against the company, the plaintiff in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/113/2021.
Justice Omotosho ordered eNaira Payment Solutions Ltd to immediately change its name to another distinct name without the use of the word “Naira.”
The judge agreed with the defendants’ arguments that though the company had been incorporated since 2004, it bore a misleading name.
eNaira Payment Solutions Limited, a company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2004, had in its suit prayed the court to strip the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of the right to ownership of the eNaira digital platform.
The firm had insisted that the move to withdraw its registration, following the CBN’s decision in 2021 to launch the pilot scheme for its digital currency (the eNaira), amounted to a gross infringement on its rights.
According to the plaintiff, it remained a valid and existing legal entity, having complied with the statutory requirements regarding the filing of its annual returns and the payment of company income tax.
It told the court in the suit, which had the CBN, the CAC, and the Registrar-General of Trade Marks listed as defendants, that it is the holder of the trademark “eNaira”, registered in Class 36 and Class 42.
The plaintiff, among other things, prayed the court to restrain the apex bank from using or purporting to use the name “eNaira” for its product or, in any way, shape, or form, infringing or threatening to infringe on the plaintiff’s trademark or violating its corporate name.
While adopting its processes, the CBN, represented by Mr Damian Dodo, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the suit, which it said was against the national interest.
Dodo argued that the federal government reserved the right to invalidate the registration of the plaintiff, insisting that the word “Naira” is intrinsically linked and associated with Nigeria as a country and that the decision to withdraw the plaintiff’s registration was “to protect a national digital asset.”
“The decision was made in the national interest. The word ‘Naira’ bears governmental connotations that warrant limitations.
“When you hear eNaira, what comes to your mind? Naira is a national heritage. The registration given to the plaintiff by the CAC is against Nigeria,” Dodo argued.
Likewise, the CAC, in its preliminary objection challenging the suit, told the court that the plaintiff was erroneously registered, adding that the case had become statute-barred, as it was filed two years after the cause of action arose.
Furthermore, the CAC argued that the plaintiff failed to approach the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC), a condition precedent that must be met before such a suit could be filed.
“Naira is the name of Nigeria’s currency. The name was inadvertently registered in favour of the plaintiff, and the CAC later wrote to the plaintiff asking it to come and change the name at no cost,” the commission submitted.
Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr David Ityonyman, had prayed the court to dismiss the objections and uphold his client’s case, adding that before the plaintiff was registered in April 2004, it made an application that was duly verified and approved by the CAC.
He added that the Registrar-General of Trademarks also gave approval after all the conditions precedent had been met and that no section of the Trade Marks Act provided for the withdrawal of a certificate that had been validly issued.
“A letter was written to the plaintiff in November 2021, when this case was already pending, asking it to change its name. This was done without granting the plaintiff a fair hearing. The plaintiff had a website, but because of allegations of infringement, the website was pulled down,” he added.
Moreover, the plaintiff argued that the source of the name “Naira” is a community in India and that “nothing stops India from having a Naira. Also, countries like the U.S. and Canada make use of dollars. None of them has laid claim to the name.
“The plaintiff had used the name Naira for a long time and enjoyed substantial goodwill before 2021, when the defendant sought to take over the name,” Ityonyman added.
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