ARIPO – Amendments To The Harare Protocol Effective 01 March 2025

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has recently announced amendments to the Harare Protocol that will come into force on 01 March 2025. You may recall that ARIPO, over the past two years, has been undertaking a comprehensive review of its protocols to avoid a piecemeal approach. This comprehensive review was being done in phases with the first phase focused on the Harare Protocol and its regulations, culminating in the amendments announced. We may expect the amendments to the other protocols including the Banjul Protocol on Marks to follow in due course. Among the changes are several significant increases in official fees, particularly for patents and industrial designs, while utility models remain unaffected. Usually, any amendments to the ARIPO IP protocols are announced at the Administrative Council Meeting held in November each year. However, the ARIPO Secretariat had not finished its review last year resulting in the amendments being