The Use of Similar Names by Church Denominations in Nigeria: Extending the Tort of Passing off

For any sector to thrive and excel, there must be somewhat a competition that drives and propels the players to put in their utmost best in order to become successful. This is what informs the development of Unfair Competition under the Common Law. Passing Off thus developed under the common law as a way of regulating the conduct of traders so as not to cause harm to rival traders. It is aimed at restricting a trader from the use (direct or implied) of trade/business names, marks, etc., belonging or similar to another in such a way as to lead the public to believe that his goods, services, etc, are that of the other trader. The essence is to protect successful traders from competitors who may want to use the name, reputation and goodwill which they have earned over the years to their own disadvantage. Goodwill is said to be the very sap and life of a business; the benefit and advantage of the good name, reputation and connection of a business which may have been built up by years of honest hard work or gained by lavish expenditure of money. Thus, goodwill though intangible in nature is what determines the degree of patronage or otherwise of a product or service. Church denominations though excluded from commercial transactions as non-profit organisations, they however, have goodwill and reputation which should be protected. With the increase in church denominations today in Nigeria, a number of these new churches either deliberately or otherwise, use the names or logos of the already established denominations in order to attract unsuspecting members of the public to their churches. This of course is one of the forms of passing off being the focus of this paper.