African Intellectual Property Organization
Fees for registering African Intellectual Property Organization trademarks
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Service Process
Trademark registration time
The African Intellectual Property Organization is a regional alliance composed of former French colonial countries to protect intellectual property rights, headquartered in the capital of Cameroon, Yaound é. The current trademark regulations of the African Intellectual Property Organization are the revised Bangui Agreement Act of February 24, 1999, and the official language is French. Trademark exclusive rights need to be obtained through registration.
Trademark registration is not mandatory, but in order to protect the trademark or renew it, it must be registered in accordance with the law. The trademark registration of the African Intellectual Property Organization adopts the principle of "application first".
The African Intellectual Property Organization is a signatory to international intellectual property treaties such as the Paris Convention. The current Bangui Agreement of the African Intellectual Property Organization is a common intellectual property code, and the principles and provisions of the agreement have national legal effect in all contracting member countries. Each contracting member state is fully bound by the organization in the field of trademarks, and there is no independent trademark system in each country, so there is no possibility of registering one country at a time. Therefore, it can be registered through the African Intellectual Property Organization for overall protection. In addition, the African Intellectual Property Organization has joined the Madrid Protocol, so trademark registration can also be processed through the "Madrid International Registration" method.
Trademark Registration Process
At present, the African Intellectual Property Organization adopts the Nice Classification 11th edition for the description of goods and services, and can accept applications for multiple categories in one form. Moreover, when applying for registration with the African Intellectual Property Organization, designated protected goods and services cannot be submitted in the same application and must be applied for separately. The elements that can be registered as trademarks by the African Intellectual Property Organization include: text, name, graphics, three-dimensional identification, color combination, sound, etc.
Natural or legal persons who do not have a domicile, main place of business, or a genuine and valid business enterprise in a member state of the African Intellectual Property Organization must entrust a specialized agent in their region to handle the matter. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design;
2. Category and specific product items;
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. The power of attorney must be signed and stamped, and the original document must be mailed;
5.If priority is declared, proof of priority must be provided.
The main process for applying for registration of a trademark with the African Intellectual Property Organization is: application, examination (absolute reasons), approval, issuance, and announcement. The application will be accepted approximately 3 months after submission. After receiving the application, the African Intellectual Property Organization will conduct a formal examination and an absolute reason examination. If any problems are found, the trademark application will be rejected. If there are no issues, the registration will be approved and a supplementary certificate will be issued. Starting from the month of the southern annotation, the announcement will be made for 6 months. Anyone who has interests in the area or has interests in the area can raise objections. The main reasons for raising objections are:
1. Conflict with prior trademarks, such as owning a prior registered trademark;
2. The trademark lacks distinctiveness;
3. The trademark has adverse effects;
4. Malicious registration;
5. Conflict with other prior rights, such as trade name rights, design rights, copyrights, personal names, etc;
6. The slogan trademark lacks originality.
If there are no objections or objections are not valid during the announcement period, it shall be deemed that the registration is successful. In a smooth situation, trademark registration with the African Intellectual Property Organization takes 6-12 months; If the process is not smooth and encounters rejection or objection, the time will be extended, which may take 1-2 years.
Trademark registration materials
The trademark registration of the African Intellectual Property Organization is valid for 10 years, starting from the date of application; Renewal can be processed within 12 months before the expiration date, with a grace period of 6 months; The renewal is valid for 10 years.
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