AFRIPI

The twinning project ‘Trade marks and Industrial Designs Office’ was initiated on the 20 January 2020 and is scheduled for implementation over a period of 18 months, with the objective of strengthening the protection of trade marks and industrial designs in Egypt.

The EUIPO supports the above objectives of the twinning project via the AfrIPI project, especially in the capacity building efforts. AfrIPI has been supporting the Egyptian partners by:

In order to enhance the quality, consistency and transparency of the examination of trade marks and designs in OAPI, it is important to have common guidelines for all examiners to use as a reference in their examination work. This will also enhance the predictability of OAPI’s decisions, benefiting all users (trade marks and designs owners and IP agents).

On 23 November 2020, Mozambique officially launched the newly created geographical indication (GI) Cabrito de Tete: the first GI registered in ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property Organization). The launch marks the outcome of a long preparation process, which will lead to further intellectual property protection, high quality standards and new business opportunities.

The European Intellectual Property Office EUIPO (represented by the AfrIPI PMT) together with the European Commission (DG DEVCO) will organise an online seminar on the EU partnership with Africa on Intellectual Property Rights, in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The webinar will take place on Tuesday, 15 December 2020, and is specifically designed to target African Intellectual Property Offices (IPOs).

Inventors often favour the legal certainty of patents granted by patent systems with substantive examination. Due to a lack of resources and capacity, only a few countries in Africa conduct any form of substantive examination. With the exception of Kenya, over 90 % of patent applications are filed in ARIPO member states through designation in an ARIPO patent application as opposed to direct national filing.

The AfrIPI project supports the Cabrito de Tete geographical indication (Mozambique). It does so by providing technical and logistical assistance in commercial testing. Two training sessions for producer association members were organised in Tete, Mozambique on 26/30/10 and 02/06/11 respectively. The training will be followed by the official Commercial Test Launch Event of the Cabrito de Tete geographical indication on the 23 November 2020 in Maputo, Mozambique. The EU Delegation to Mozambique will attend the event representing the EU, with the Ambassador, H.E.

On 5 November, main African IP actors met EU counterparts to discuss and assess current situation of Intellectual Property in Africa, future prospects and cooperation opportunities under the AfrIPI project and collaboration with European. Among others, IP regional organisations ARIPO and OAPI,  as well as European national IP offices  contributed to a meaningful dialogue, which also engaged the African Union Commission and the European Union. 

The AfrIPI project supports the Cabrito de Tete geographical indication (Mozambique). It does so by providing technical and logistical assistance in the commercial testing. Two trainings for producers associations’ members will be organized in Tete, Mozambique on 26-30/10 and 02-06/11 respectively. The trainings will be followed by the official Commercial Test Launch Event of the Cabrito de Tete geographical indication on the 23rd November 2020 in Maputo, Mozambique.

As of 14 September 2020, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) has enhanced its participation in TMclass and joined DesignClass. From this day, OAPI will use and accept the list of terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass as well as the list of terms from the harmonised database of product indications (HDBPI) in DesignClass.