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The Role of Regional Organizations in the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights TK Contents African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) African Intellectual Property Organization (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Patent Office African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Historical Background The ARIPO was previously known as the Industrial Property Organization for English Speaking Africa (ESARIPO) It changed its name to African Regional Industrial Property Organization when it was open to all Member States of Organization of African Unity (OAU, now known as AU) It changed again recently its name to the “African Regional Intellectual Property Organization” to include copyright Headquarters: Harare, Zimbabwe The ARIPO Agreement was adopted at Lusaka (Zambia) in 1976 18 Member States: Botswana, the Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe Scope of Applicability Coexistence with national laws of Member States ARIPO is principally governed by the Agreement on the Creation of ARIPO and by these Protocols: Protocol on Patents (including utility models) and Industrial Designs within the Framework of the ARIPO’, adopted at Harare on December 10, 1982 Banjul Protocol on Marks’, adopted at Banjul (Gambia) on November 19, 1993 Protocol on the protection of traditional knowledge and expressions of folklore, adopted in Namibia on August 9, 2010 (Swakopmund Protocol; not in force yet) African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) Historical Background The first Agreement signed at Libreville on September 13, 1962 was known as the Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African and Malagasy Office of Industrial Property This Agreement was revised at Bangui on March 2, 1977 by the Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), the Bangui Agreement The Bangui Agreement was revised again in 1999 Headquarters: Yaounde, Cameroon 16 Member States: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo Scope of Applicability The Bangui Agreement and its Annexes constitute the national law of the OAPI Member States Uniform system of protection of industrial property rights No separate law on industrial property required Annex I: Patents Annex II: Utility Models Annex III: Trademarks and Service Marks Annex IV: Industrial Designs Annex V: Trade Names Annex VI: Geographical Indications Annex VII: Copyright Annex VIII: Protection Against Unfair Competition Annex IX: Layout-Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits Annex X: Protection of Plant Varieties Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) The Eurasian Patent Convention came into effect in 1995 A simple and inexpensive procedure for obtaining patents with validity in all the Convention’s Contracting States (one Eurasian application, in one language (Russian), one examination – a common Eurasian Patent) Scope The applicant may choose between filing directly with the EAPO or through a national office. Member States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-Patent Office The regional Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf was created in 1998 Patents granted by the Office shall be valid in all GCC Member States, and shall need no further processing in any GCC Member State. Headquarters: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The protection of a GCC patent extends to members of the GCC Countries Member States (6): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. THANK YOU 11