NIPMO National Intellectual Property Management Office (South Africa) OSS Open Source Software OTT Office of Technology Transfer PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty PBR Plant Breeders Rights PRI Public Research Institution PRHEI Public Research and Higher Education Institution SDK Software Development Kit SME Small and Medium Enterprise African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, Lynnwood Bridge, 4 Daventry Street, Lynnwood Manor, Pretoria, 2nd Floor, 34 Fredman Drive (Cnr. * Note: Not all signatories of the Harare Protocol have incorporated the provisions of the Protocol into their national laws. Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of … Novelty can never be determined conclusively, but an indication of the novelty of your invention may be found by conducting a patent search. The African Regional Industrial Property Organization (ARIPO), the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and the European Patent Organisation (EPO) have filed a declaration of acceptance under Article 9(1)(a) of the Treaty. The Protocol is open to all member countries of ARIPO. Patent applications must be filed at the OAPI office. Africa is a vast continent with 54 countries and a plethora of legal traditions that can bewilder trademark applicants wishing to protect their intellectual property in this fast-growing region. As with patents, the legal position is uncertain in those member states which have not implemented the provisions of the Harare Protocol in their national legislation. The Regulations to implement the Protocol were adopted in 1984 and amended in 1994. If an applicant has come up with an invention that he or she wishes to patent in a number of countries, the applicant is advised to utilise the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) prior to actually lodging patent applications in these countries. In this regard, the legal structure of ARIPO differs from that of OAPI, the other African regional organisation (see the chapter on Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) below). Patents Copyright This is a co-published article, which was originally published in the World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR). 25 May 1963 - On 26 May 2001, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was legally transformed into the African Union(AU). The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. Patent matters are dealt with in Annex I of the Bangui Agreement. The patent lawyers at Smit & Van Wyk deal exclusively with patent law including all aspects related to filing patents, PCT national phase applications and industrial designs in most African countries, including Mauritius. Patent Requirements South Africa. If the ARIPO office notifies the designated states that an application complies with all formal requirements, a designated state may, before the expiration of 12 months from the date of the notification from the ARIPO office, make a written communication to the ARIPO office to the effect that the registration of the mark will have no effect within its territory. Furthermore, unlike the position under OAPI, ARIPO does not provide for copyright protection, nor (at this stage) for plant breeders’ rights. This site uses cookies to collect activity data and personalise content. PCT National Phase applications in South Africa. Since then, the European Union, Japan and the United States have pushed for further harmonization by reviving WIPO’s efforts to harmonize substantive aspects of patent processing, i.e. Those countries marked with * in the list above have not yet implemented the Banjul Protocol by way of national laws. Entry of International Application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty into South African National Phase and Acknowledgement of Receipt. The Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the Harare Protocol) was adopted in 1982 in Harare, Zimbabwe and entered into force on 25 April 1984. The PCT is an international treaty, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), between more than 140 Paris Convention countries. See the section above on PATENTS for the current country membership of the Harare Protocol. Although both of these Protocols provide for the filing of a single application to cover one or more member states designated in the application, a registration which results from such an application does not constitute a regional registration; its effect is that of a national registration in each designated country. Further, member states do not have trademark laws or subregional registration systems. All rights reserved. The opposition period is three months after publication in the regional Marks Journals. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak waves at African delegates at the beginning of the signing of a landmark document, named Pelindaba Treaty, declaring Africa a … The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) was created by the Bangui Agreement on March 2, 1977 and came into force on February 8, 1982. As an inventor if you register a patent in a foreign country but do not register it in Nigeria, you cannot sue for infringement of the patent in Nigeria. Corporate Management The growth of cross-national African trade spearheaded by the ratification of regional free trade agreements will foster the expansion and improvement of regional trademark registration systems. Therefore, an application will cover all member states without the need for subsequent formalities and trademarks cannot be refused in connection with one or a few member states. A revised Bangui Agreement came into force on February 28, 2002. The continent boasts two regional agreements, which allow multi-jurisdictional trademark applications: the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO). ARIPO was established in 1976 in Lusaka, Zambia through the joint efforts of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), when the Agreement on the Creation of an African Regional Industrial Property Organisation (ARIPO) was concluded by a group of 15 founding states. A patent specification is a document describing the invention in detail, often accompanied by drawings which help to explain it. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states. OAPI’s trademark registration system is automatic and unitary. 1. For example, ARIPO countries are members of the following international/regional conventions: The headquarters and administrative offices of ARIPO are located in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Lusaka Agreement and the ARIPO Protocols address only industrial property rights, despite the change by the Organisation of its name to refer to intellectual property. Family & Private Law By continuing to navigate this site, you agree to allow us to collect information using cookies. A design application is filed with the industrial property office of a contracting state or at the ARIPO office in Harare, designating the states in which protection is sought, whereupon the prescribed procedure and examination will follow. Labour & Employment, © 2021 | Copyright Adams & Adams | All rights reserved. Therefore, it is not possible to seek national protection with the Bangui Agreement functioning as a region-wide IP code. The ARIPO registration system is less straightforward than OAPI’s and relies heavily on each member state’s ability to adapt its national trademark laws and practice to the Banjul Protocol. * Note: Not all signatories of the Banjul Protocol have incorporated the provisions of the Protocol into their national laws. The usual time frame from application to registration is 10 to 14 months. Patent Requirements: A South African patent may be granted for an invention that is new (novel), inventive and useful. The patent law prevents others from making, using, exercising, or disposing of the invention in question. Copyright © 2021 Inventa International LLC. Registered Designs, Corporate & Commercial The PCT provides for an international patent application (but not for an international patent… If your invention is still in its early stages and further developments and improvements are likely to be needed we recommend instructing a provisional patent application initially. Patent Agents”, wherever it occurs, is substituted by the expression “South African Institute of Intellectual Property Laws”. Neither the Lusaka Agreement nor the Harare Protocol makes any reference to the protection of plants or plant varieties. Once granted, a design registration will have the effect of a national registration in those designated states. The ARIPO instruments contain no provisions dealing with copyright. +1 646 583 3098 Alternatively, member states may require that applicants domiciled in the territory of a member state must first file the application with the national administration of the member state. The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. Recently, a new protocol for regional plant variety protection for ARIPO was proposed. South Africa is a signatory of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Once a mark has been registered under the Banjul Protocol, it is protected in each designated state as if the mark had been filed and registered in such state, unless a state has indicated that the registration shall have no effect in that particular state. Patent Cooperation Treaty International Patent Law Treaty. www.inventa.com ARIPO has adopted two Protocols, the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the Harare Protocol) and the Banjul Protocol on Marks (the Banjul Protocol). Trade Marks The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) is an inter-governmental organization (IGO) that facilitates cooperation among member states in intellectual property matters, with the objective of pooling financial and human resources, and seeking technological advancement for economic, social, technological, scientific and industrial development. Compliance & Regulatory, Litigation Services The Banjul Protocol on Marks was adopted in 1993 in Banjul, Gambia and came into force on 6 March 1997. In this Treaty, except where the context otherwise requires - “Act of the Community” means an Act of the Community in accordance with this Treaty; “Audit Commission” means the Audit Commission established by Article 134 of this Treaty; “Assembly” means the East African Legislative Assembly established by Article 9 of this Treaty; The Regulations to implement the Protocol were adopted in November 1999. This means that the member countries of ARIPO have retained their national laws on patents, industrial designs and trade marks. At the recent meeting of the ARIPO Administrative Council, held in Liberia between 18 and 20 November 2019, a number of amendments to the Banjul and Harare Protocols were adopted and came into force on 1 January 2020. WTO/TRIPS (all countries are members except Liberia, Somalia and Sudan). Companies with economic interests in Africa that wish to expand their trademark portfolio should be aware of the advantages of ARIPO and OAPI as they enable cost-efficient and effortless protection strategies. When a patent is granted, it extends automatically to those member countries that have been designated in the application, unless a designated country has made a written communication to the ARIPO office that the patent will have no effect in that country. ACT To provide for the registration and granting of patents for inventions and for matters connected therewith. Subsequent amendments were effected in 1987 and 1994. The current membership of the Harare Protocol is 17 countries: Botswana (since 1985) * Malawi (since 1984) * Swaziland (since 1988), Gambia (since 1986) Mozambique (since 2000) * Tanzania (since 1999), Ghana (since 1984) * Namibia (since 2004) Uganda (since 1984), Kenya (since 1984) * Rwanda (since 2011) Zambia (since 1986), Lesotho (since 1987) * Sierra Leone (since 1999) Zimbabwe (since 1984). Budapest. In line with the humanitarian initiative, African leaders declared Africa a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone with the 1996 Treaty of Pelindaba. Copyright © 2021 Inventa International. Developments in this regard are awaited. All rights reserved.Except when noted, all prices exclude taxes. PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) International Applications. It offers protection in mostly French-speaking countries of West Africa, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo. In 2000, some procedures for patent filing worldwide were streamlined under the WIPO Patent Law Treaty. While called “international” patent, not all countries are covered. P26: Statement on the indigenous biological resource, genetic resource traditional knowledge or use. If an inventor has filed an international application under the PCT, the Trademarks, Patents and Design registry in Nigeria often relies on the ISR allowing the inventor to save on search fees. The application must designate the contracting states in which the patent is sought.