Intellectual Property Theft and the Fashion Industry in Lagos: Legal Challenges and Remedies

Nigeria's fashion industry, anchored in Lagos and increasingly regarded as a cultural export, faces significant challenges from intellectual property infringement, including design copying, trademark counterfeiting, and trade dress misappropriation. This study investigates the nature and extent of intellectual property theft in the Lagos fashion industry and evaluates the adequacy of existing legal remedies under the Copyright Act 2022, the Trade Marks Act, and the Patents and Designs Act. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research surveys 100 fashion designers and 30 intellectual property lawyers in Lagos Island and Victoria Island, complementing primary data with analysis of IP tribunal decisions from 2019 to 2024. Findings reveal that most fashion designers operate without formal IP registrations, leaving them legally vulnerable to design copying by larger manufacturers and retailers. The study also analyses the role of social media in both facilitating infringement and providing informal enforcement through public exposure. The research argues that existing IP legislation does not adequately protect the creative outputs of the informal fashion sector and that the cost of litigation acts as a prohibitive barrier for independent designers. Recommendations include the creation of simplified IP registration processes, the expansion of collective rights organisations, and targeted public education campaigns for the creative sector. Keywords: intellectual property, fashion industry, copyright, Lagos, trademark infringement