African Regional Intellectual Property Organization

Map of current ARIPO members in blue, nations with observer status in green.[needs update]

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 intellectual property matters. ARIPO was established by the Lusaka Agreement[1] of 1976. It has the capacity to hear applications for patents and registered trademarks in its member states who are parties to the Harare (patents), Banjul (marks) and Arusha (plant varieties) protocols.[1] ARIPO also features a protocol on the protection of traditional knowledge, the Swakopmund Protocol,[1] signed in 2010 by 9 member states of the organization which entered into force on May 11, 2015, and was amended on December 6, 2016.[citation needed]

ARIPO has the WIPO ST.3 code AP. Its 22 member states[2] are mostly English-speaking countries. Rwanda became the 18th member state on March 24, 2010,[3][4] and São Tomé and Príncipe on May 19, 2014 (the Harare Protocol entered into force on August 19, 2014, with respect to São Tomé and Príncipe).[5] Seychelles became a member State of ARIPO on 1 January 2022.[6]

The name of the organization changed from African Regional Industrial Property Organization to African Regional Intellectual Property Organization in 2005.

  1. ^ a b c See the list of ARIPO-administered treaties Archived 2016-11-12 at the Wayback Machine at WIPO website. Consulted on July 4, 2013.
  2. ^ "Member States - The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)". www.aripo.org. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. ^ ARIPO web site, Rwanda Joins ARIPO Archived November 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, News, Thursday, 4 August 2011. Consulted on September 16, 2011.
  4. ^ Rwanda Joins ARIPO Archived 2013-01-02 at the Wayback Machine, PCT Newsletter, September 2011, No. 09/2010, p. 1.
  5. ^ "Sào Tomé and Príncipe". ARIPO. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2014.; "Sao Tome and Principe Joins ARIPO". PCT Newsletter, No. 06/2014. WIPO. June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  6. ^ "Seychelles joins ARIPO". www.wipo.int. WIPO. November 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021. ... Seychelles will become a member State of ARIPO with effect from 1 January 2022...