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FORCHAK IP & LEGAL ADVISORY is duly accredited amongst others to
practice intellectual property and similar matters as defined hereunder
at the OAPI region. The African Intellectual Property Organization
widely known by its French acronym as “OAPI” was created
by the Bangui Agreement of March, 2nd, 1977, and subsequently amended
in 1999 is responsible for implementing and applying the common
administrative procedures deriving from a uniform system for the
protection of industrial property, as well as the provision of international
agreements in this field to which the member states of the Organization
have acceded, and avoiding services related to industrial property.
The Organization further seeks to centralize, coordinate, and disseminate
information of all kinds relating to the protection of literary
and artistic property and it also seeks to promote economic development
of its member states notably by means of effective protection of
intellectual and related rights. The Bangui Agreement contains ten
(10) Annexes, which is applicable in its entirety to every State
that ratifies it. The Annexes include:
Patent
Utility models
Trademark and service marks
Industrial designs
Trade names
Geographical indications
Literary and artistic property
Protection against unfair competition
Layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits
Plant variety protection
Copyrights
IP Watch and monitory services
The member states of the OAPI moved by the desire to promote the
effective contribution of intellectual property to the development
of their States and to protect intellectual property rights on their
territories in a uniform a manner as possible, undertake to accede
the following Treaties and Conventions to wit: - The Paris Convention
for the protection of industrial property of March 20th, 1883, as
revised at Stockholm on July 14th 1967; - The Berne Convention for
the protection of Literary and Artistic Works of September 9th,
1886 as amended at Paris on July 24th, 1971 and/or the Universal
Copyright Convention as revised at Paris on July 24th 1971; - The
Hague Agreement relating to International Deposit of Industrial
Designs of November 6th 1925, as revised at the Hague on November
28th 1960 and at Stockholm on July 14th 1967; - The Lisbon Agreement
for the Protection of Appellation of origin and their international
registration of October 31st, 1958, as revised at Stockholm on July
14th, 1967; - The Convention establishing the World Intellectual
Property Organization “WIPO”, signed at Stockholm on
July 14th 1967; - The Patent Convention Treaty (PCT) signed at Washington
on June 19th , 1970; - The Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the
Olympic Symbol of 1981; - The Budapest Treaty on the international
Recognition of Micro-organisms for the purposes of Patent Procedure
of 1977; - The International Convention for the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants of December 2nd, 1961, as revised at Geneva
on November 10th, 1972, October 23rd, 1978 and March 19th, 1991;
- The Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization,
including the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights of April 15th, 1994; - The Trade Registration Treaty
signed at Vienna on June 12th, 1973; - The Rome Convention for the
Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting
Organizations of 1961; The OAPI is made up of Seventeen African
countries mentioned below and its headquarters is located in Yaounde
(Republic of Cameroon) and national liaison offices in each member
state. The most significant importance of the Organization to economic
investors is that an intellectual property right protected in one
country is valid, binding and enforceable in the entire region of
its member states namely: |
