The Nigerian High Court that is presiding over the e-naira trademark infringement case brought against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has ruled that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) “may proceed on national interest” considerations. The ruling clears a crucial legal hurdle for CBN’s yet to be rolled out digital currency.
CBN’s Alleged Trademark Infringement
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Nigerian firm Enaira Payments Solution had filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the central bank for its use of the term “e-naira.” The firm’s lawyers have argued that the CBN’s plan to use the e-naira term posed a threat and would represent a willful infringement.
Yet in a ruling that came just a few days after a CBN spokesperson announced the deferment of the CBDC launch, the High Court judge, Taiwo Abayomi Taiwo, reportedly justified this decision by suggesting the “plaintiff may be adequately compensated.” Parties to the case are now expected to return to court on October 11.
Reason for Postponement
When the CBN announced the postponement of the e-naira launch, observers were quick to speculate that this was linked to the lawsuit. However, a report the Nairametrics pointed to the sustained surge in traffic to the website as the real reason for the postponement. According to the report, this surge in traffic convinced the CBN that it had to do “a reassessment of the system powering the digital currency” before the rollout.
The report however does not state when the central bank expects to conclude the reassessment or the new e-naira launch date.
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