Nigeria's published TM applications: whatever happened to the specs?

Last month the Nigerian Trade Mark and Patent Registry published its first Trade Marks Journal of the year. Weighing in at 540 pages, it's the largest volume to be published in recent years. Presumably it would have been somewhat longer if it had included the specification of goods and services covered by the marks for which registration is sought -- an omission which may not be lawful.

By law, the registrar must advertise accepted trade mark applications in the Trade Marks Journal, following which there is a two-month period within which third-party oppositions must be filed. The deadline in relation to the current Journal is 6 August 2008, by which time any opponents would have had to conduct their own research in order to identify the applicants' specifications of goods and services [source: Sade Laniyan, Jackson Etti & Edu, Lagos, writing in World Trademark Report].