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ARTICLE · 26 OCTOBER 2020

Amendments To OAPI System Will Shake Up The Entire Registration Process

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The African Organisation for Intellectual Property (OAPI) IP system is ruled by the Bangui Agreement, which was amended in 2019.

South AfricaIntellectual Property
Joana Teixeira
Joana Teixeira

The African Organisation for Intellectual Property (OAPI) IP system is ruled by the Bangui Agreement, which was amended in 2019. This has resulted in changes to the IP system for French-speaking countries in Africa. The main alterations are to the prosecution and litigation procedures with regard to trademarks, patents and administration.

The amendments will come into force after it has been ratified by at least 12 OAPI member states. Last year, seven out of 12 countries ratified these changes. At the time of writing, it is believed that this number had risen to 11 – the 12th country to approve would be Cameroon.

After the 12th member state ratifies the proposal, the new system will come into effect, although it is likely that trademark-related provisions will come into force in 2021 and patent-related ones in 2022.

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