News: Trademark registration in Africa

Registration of trademark in Africa

Over the course of two decades, many companies in the post-Soviet space are actively moving out of and go beyond their countries to develop foreign markets. Particular interest is shown to the countries of the African continent, which opens a wide scope for commercial activities.

Therefore, now they often face the question of how to register a trademark in Africa. If you are also interested in this issue, Law&Trust Law Firm will provide the necessary consultation, prepare all the documents and submit them to the appropriate authorities.

How to patent trademarks in Africa?

It should be noted that the term "patenting" is mainly characteristic of the legislation of other countries. Therefore, the notion of "registration of trademarks" is more applicable to Africa, and it is implemented in several ways:

• National procedure - submitting an application to the national intellectual property office of the country where you will register the trademark;

• Regional procedure - if a country is a member of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) or the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI);

• International procedure - the application should be submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization if the country is a party to the Madrid Agreement or Protocol.

The cost of registration of TM in Africa

Law&Trust тrenders services all over the world, and African countries are no exception. The cost of registration of trademarks in various states of Africa varies and depends on the method and country of registration. You can find out more information during the consultation.

Trademark Registration Procedure in Africa

In Africa, there are two trademark registration systems regulated by the relevant organizations. The use of regional registration serves to ensure the protection of the trademark in a number of states that are parties of the same system.

Trademark can be registered in such countries as Gambia, Ghana, Zambia, Zanzibar, Kenya, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa through the regional ARIPO system.

Submission of the application for trademark registration is possible through the national office, and also through the regional system. The application is subjected only to formal examination, and verification in order to identify similar trademarks in Africa is not carried out. If the application meets the requirements, it is transmitted to the national office of the countries indicated in the application for research on compliance with national trademark legislation. One year passesfrom submission of the application to registration.

Registration through the regional OAPI system allows the registration of trademarks in Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Eritrea and Ethiopia. It includes the countries participating in the Madrid system, namely: Algeria, Egypt, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe and Tunisia.

The application for registration of trademark should be submitted to the Central Office of the OAPI. It is subject to formal examination, without searching for similar trademarks. In case of compliance with formal requirements, the application is registered and published in the Official Bulletin of the organization. It takes 9-12 monthsfor the entire registration procedure according to the regional system from submitting application to registration.

What documents are needed to register TM in Africa?

The following documentsshould beattached to the application for registration of TM in Africa:

• the designation to be registered;

• a list of classes of goods and services to which the products subject to marking with the claimed trademark correspond;

• verbal description of the trademark.

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