At the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization
(ARIPO) Administrative Council Meetings held 6 to 9 December 2021
in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe amendments were approved for
the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs and
the Banjul Protocol on Marks. Below is a brief summary of some of
the amendments which will be effective 1 January 2022.
Amendments to the Banjul Protocol:
The following amendments were made the Banjul Protocol on
Marks:
Early publication of Marks: In instances where all
designated Member States on a trademark application have issued
their acceptance notices earlier than the 9 month period, it will
now be possible for the applicant to request earlier publication of
the mark for opposition purposes subject to the payment of
prescribed fees. Furthermore, ARIPO has also introduced a rule to
allow the separate publication of refused and conditionally refused
applications which was not currently provided.
