AFRIPI

As the AfrIPI project is designed to facilitate the ongoing negotiations (in particular Phase II, dealing with intellectual property rights) and later implementation of the AfCFTA, the project will provide technical assistance to the African Union and its member states in this regard. This includes provision of hands-on technical support and training for the application in practice of the commitments set out in the future AfCFTA chapter on intellectual property rights (IPR).

In order to increase visibility, this launch event will formally announce the start of the IPR Protection for Africa (AfrIPI) Project.

22 April 2021 is the date chosen for a workshop on geographical indications (GIs) in Nigeria. The main thrust of the workshop will be to discuss how best to prepare the public sector in promoting GIs in Nigeria (capacity building). This is being organised by the following partners: IP First Group, Africa International Trade and Commerce Research (AITCR), and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The event will be hybrid in nature (i.e. some participants will be available in person while others will participate online).

The Nigerian and Ethiopian intellectual property offices (IPOs) held an online workshop with the EUIPO Academy on 24 March 2021, to exchange best practices on how to set up their own IP Academies. This event was organised after both IPOs expressed interest in such an event during meetings with the AfrIPI Project Management Team. Representatives from both offices engaged with representatives from the EUIPO Academy on how best to adapt existing EUIPO e-learning materials to their specific needs.

The Executive Director of the EUIPO, Christian Archambeau, held a virtual meeting with Mr Bemanya Twebaze, the new Director General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) on 11 March 2021.

The main objective of the meeting was to review the current status of activities in both Offices and agree on future steps for cooperation.

The Twinning Project ‘Trademarks and Industrial Designs Office’ was initiated on the 20 January 2020 and is scheduled to be implemented over a period of 18 months. The overall objective of the Project is to strengthen the protection of trade marks and industrial designs in Egypt.

The activity aims to create awareness on the available IP tools and prepare the countries involved to integrate relevant EUIPN tools into their software. This integration process also includes the sharing of knowledge and experiences as well as technical hands-on sessions. Ever since the beginning of the AfrIPI project, OAPI spent several months gradually integrating DesignClass and the Harmonised Database tools. The process was completed in September 2020 and was a major step forward following the integration of TMView in January 2019.

As stated in the continental GI strategy for Africa, the value of GIs needs to be highlighted through specifically supporting the effective progress of African geographical indications (GIs).

Free access to information ensures transparency and promotes participation in public debate. New technology continues to evolve, and the internet currently allows citizens around the world to access a plurality of sources and a vast amount of information in just one click. Nevertheless, the dispersion of the information from different sources requires an effort of research, that may lead to some information being missed.

The GI Penja Pepper has been filed for registration at EU level and is currently being examined. This activity is part of the support the AfrIPI project provides in terms of technical assistance in protecting GIs at national and/or EU level. The next step for AfrIPI is to present the Consultative Committee for the Continental Strategy for Geographical Indications in Africa, with its proposed selection criteria. On the basis of this criteria, various African GIs will receive support for their registration at local and/or European level.