The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Retail Limited has dragged the Natural Network Petroleum and Gas Company Limited and two others to Justice I.M. Sanni of a Federal High Court in Akure over alleged infringement on its trademark.

The NNPC had in a suit filed by its counsel, Muyiwa Atoyebi, joined Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Registrar of Trade Marks, Patent and Designs as 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively. Also in a separate suit the corporation sued Flory Mummy Nigeria Limited over the same subject matter.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja over the weekend, the Managing Director of NNPC Retail Limited, Mr. Fagbola Ladipo stated that the suit was a follow up to the anti-corruption campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari in his bid to completely root out corruption in the country.

Mr Ladipo stated that the infringement on the NNPC trademark by the first defendant had began to cause a dwindling in the sales of NNPC in Ondo state. And that the first defendant is imitating NNPC by using its color combination of red, yellow, green, uniform, emblem and the acronym NNPC to deceive the public.

The plaintiff however prays the court to make an order of perpetual injunction restraining NNPG from selling, offering any service, advertising for sale or promoting howsoever the name and consequently the acronym of NNPG in any of its service outlets, or any similar acronym, mark design and / or trade logo identical or similar to its own.

It also wants the court to direct CAC pursuant to Section 31(1) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters act, 1990 to remove the NNPG’s name from its record being similar with its registered trademark, NNPC.
NNPC further wants the court to direct the Registrar of Trademarks, Patent and Designs never to accept for registration the word NNPG or any word or color combination so closely identical or similar to its own.

The plaintiff, further wants to the court to stop NNPG from using similar/identical colors/combination? of colors to that of the plaintiff as its retail outlets.

The plaintiff is also asking the court to order NNPG to remove all sign posts, names/acronyms with letters NNPG and any such identical/similar design infringing on its trademark with immediate effect.

NNPC also prays the court for the sum N5 million being exemplary damages and N10 million as general damages for the infringement and passing off of its trademark and design.

The court had however fixed November 10 for hearing.

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