Company Sues CBN For The Name eNaira, Another Wants N6.6m To Sell Similar Domain

Company Sues CBN For The Name eNaira, Another Wants N6.6m To Sell Similar Domain

  • The firm believes CBN's choice of eNaira infringes on its rights because it was the first to register the name.
  • This comes less than 48 hours after the CBN launched the enaira.com website, which has already received over one million views
  • A clever Nigerian with a similar domain to the official eNaira, is demanding N6.6 million for a domain that was originally registered for N6,000

Just days before Nigeria's digital currency is launched, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been asked to stop using the name eNaira.

In a notification addressed to CBN by the aggrieved owner of eNaira Payment Solutions and signed by Olakule Agbebi Esq for Olakule Agbebi & Co., the owner noted that the choice of the eNaira is an infringement on its rights.

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According to the company's lawyer, his firm, eNaira Payment Solutions (RC 508500), has been registered since 7th April 2004 and is registered in class 36 and class 42, which implies the company has sole ownership of the term 'eNaira.'

Company sues CBN for using the name ‘ENaira’ another wants N4.3m for similar domain
Snapshot of the notification to CBN Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

The lawyer went on to claim that the word 'eNaira' is a threat to his client's trademark and evidence of intentional infringement. His customer is now experiencing damages, commercial losses, and goodwill loss.

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The notice reads:

"Enaira Payment Solutions Limited versus Central Bank Of Nigeria, Suit No: FHC/AB/CS/113/2021, our client has petitioned the Federal High Court for a restraining order, including an injunction barring CBN from proceeding in the subject of the currency's debut on October 1, 2021."

In addition, the firm warned CBN not to use or claim to use the word eNaira for its product or in any other way.

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In another similar development, a yet to be identified owner of a similar domain to the official website for the digital currency enaira.com has asked for N6.6 million($16,000) to give up the domain.

The individual describes its website www.enaira.com.ng which is similar to the CBN www.enaira.com that went on live on Monday as perfect for digital currency.

According to the person who placed the business on woodoo.com, www.enaira.ng is a premium platform for anyone looking to exchange digital money and cryptocurrencies.

The information reads:

It will be a good fit for developing any digital currency projects like eNaira wallet, bitcoin trading news portal, Cryptocurrency trading platform, Cryptocurrency exchanges, BTC exchange, Bitcoin Cryptocurrency mining and more.

What is eNaira?

In July, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it will introduce the country's official digital currency. More than a month later, the apex bank has released the latest update on the eNaira

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According to the eNaira guidelines, the first stage of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) implementation is the Monetary Authority Suite, which instructs that the CBN is the sole issuer and distributor of the eNaira. It also states that the CBN can redeem and destroy the currency.

The second stage is the Financial Institution Suite which states the eNaira currency request or issuance of stablecoins and its management will be done by the licensed financial institution.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Dave Ibemere avatar

Dave Ibemere (Senior Business Editor) Dave Ibemere is a senior business editor at Legit.ng. He is a financial journalist with over a decade of experience in print and online media. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Lagos. He is a member of the African Academy for Open-Source Investigation (AAOSI), the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and other media think tank groups. He previously worked with The Guardian, BusinessDay, and headed the business desk at Ripples Nigeria. Email: dave.ibemere@corp.legit.ng.