Obafemi Agaba is a Partner at Jackson, Etti & Edu; a leading pan-African full-service commercial law firm with a sector focus. Obafemi heads the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group of the Firm which cuts across all aspects of Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property & Technology Litigation, such as Labour & employment; Trade & Contractual Disputes; Product Liability; Tortious Actions; Debt recovery, Insolvency & Corporate Rescue; Law Enforcement Agencies Engagements & Crisis Management; as well as Technology & social media related matters; Trademarks, Copyright, Patent, Industrial designs and Trade secret matters in the form of Infringement, Cancellation, Passing-off, Anti-Counterfeiting, amongst others.
His expertise is especially renowned in the specialist areas of Brand Protection (IP Litigation and Anti-Counterfeiting Actions) and Technology Litigation where he has risen as a pioneer of this fast-evolving world of Social Media, Telcos, Fintech and other Technology Litigation In this regard, he has successfully led several anti-counterfeiting campaigns, as well as represented several local and multi-national clients in the above areas; winning several landmark cases that have dictated the pace and direction of fundamental principles in the Nigerian IP and Technology Litigation jurisprudence.
Obafemi is also Co-Head of the Firm’s Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Sector where he brings his vast industry knowledge and experience to forte in designing tailor-made technical and business solutions that speak directly to the peculiarities of the challenges faced by clients in this sector. Leading multi-nationals and local players in this sector trust his judgment on their matters.
Obafemi is currently the President of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN) and currently serves as Chairman of INTA’s Legislation & Regulation Sub-Committee for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa Region. He has attended and facilitated several local and international conferences and workshops, including those organized by International Trademarks Association (INTA), Anti-Counterfeiting Collaboration, International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, Nigerian Copyright Commission, Nigerian Customs Service, amongst others. He was responsible for drafting the legal framework for the actualization of the recommendations of the Lagos State Governor’s Committee for the reforms of the entertainment industry in Lagos State, Nigeria. Obafemi, who has a number of publications to his credit, has been ranked by several reputable organisations like Chambers, Managing IP, Who’s Who Legal, etc. for his outstanding expertise.
Education
Oxford University (Said Business School) - Oxford Leading Professional Service Firm Programme.
Harvard Law School Executive Education – Sector Leadership Master Class
University College London – LLM.IP (with Corporate Insolvency & Rescue).
King’s College London - PGDip. Int’l Copyright Law.
Nigerian Law School – B.L
Lagos State University – LL. B
MCArb. (UK)
Professional Memberships
Nigerian Bar Association
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK)
International Trademark Association (INTA)
Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria (IPLAN)
Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (ACC)
