The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization - ARIPO , formerly African Regional Industrial Property Organization, is an intergovernmental organization for cooperation among African states in patent and other industrial property matters. It has the capacity to hear applications for patents and registered trademarks in its member states who are parties to the Harare (patents) and Banjul (marks) protocols.
Its 18 member states are mostly English-speaking countries.
Members: Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (some members didn't join both protocols - please see below for more detail).
Observers: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tunisia
International Arrangements
WIPO
Patents
Patent Members (Harare protocol):
Types of Patents:
Filing Requirements:
Patents PCT
Granting:
Renewals:
Trademarks
Trademark Members (Banjul protocol):
Filing Requirements:
Granting:
Renewals
Designs and Models
Filing Requirements:
Granting
Renewals
Copyrights
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
As members of the Berne Convention, it is possible to copyright protect creative works in these countries, as well as all the other member nations automatically (more than 160 countries), with one single application.
For more information and to submit us your works for worldwide copyright protection, click here .
More information
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