ARTICLE · 20 SEPTEMBER 2021

ARIPO Patent Insights From 2019

Smit & Van Wyk

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The African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) releases annual statistics documenting applications filed in ARIPO member states. Applications

South AfricaIntellectual Property

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) releases annual statistics documenting applications filed in ARIPO member states. Applications include patents, industrial designs, utility models and trade marks.

It is evident from the 2019 statistics that intellectual property (IP) proprietors are opting to obtain patent protection in ARIPO member states on a regional level through the Harare Protocol, as opposed to individual national filings. Botswana, for example, reported only 5 patent applications via the national route, as opposed to 562 patent applications via the regional route. In Kenya, 335 national patent applications were filed, whilst 708 regional patent applications were filed.

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