What are the procedures for applying for African invention patents? The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), headquartered in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, is a regional alliance composed of French speaking countries in the former French colonies. At present, OAPI members include Cameroon, Benin, Central African Republic, Congo, Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Togo, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, a total of 17 countries. OAPI is mainly responsible for reviewing and issuing protection certificates such as invention patents, utility models, product or service trademarks, industrial product designs, geographical indications, integrated circuit layout designs (topological maps), plant varieties, etc., as well as document information dissemination and intellectual property training and popularization.

Process of applying for African invention patents:

1. Patent search

Before submitting the patent application to OAPI, the applicant shall determine the invention to be applied for and search the existing technology to determine the novelty of the invention. OAPI conducts substantive examination of patent applications, examining the novelty, industrial applicability and creativity of patents. In order to prevent the possibility that the patent application may be rejected because it does not meet the novelty requirements, it is recommended that the applicant search the existing technology before the application. Since OAPI adopts the standard of absolute novelty, it is necessary to search the existing technologies worldwide.

2. Submit an application (see Article 14 of Annex 1 to the Bangui Agreement)

Documents required for application:

(1) Application form;

(2) The application documents shall be sealed in two copies, including:

a. Description - describes the invention to be protected in a clear and complete manner, so that those skilled in the art with medium knowledge and skills can implement the invention;

b. Drawings necessary or helpful for understanding the invention;

c. The claim determining the scope of protection sought, but not exceeding the content described in the Description;

d. Abstract - Summarize the contents mentioned in the specification and claims, as well as any drawings supporting them.

(3) Proof of payment of application fee and public fee;

(4) If an agent is entrusted, the power of attorney shall be provided;

(5) If priority is required, the applicant shall submit relevant priority documents within 6 months after the application date;

(6) If the invention involves micro-organisms or uses micro-organisms, a receipt for the deposit of micro-organisms issued by a designated depositary institution or an international depositary institution must be submitted.

*Note that the above documents must be submitted in the official language of OAPI.

3. Review

● Formal review:

If the application does not comply with the form requirements of Article 14 of Annex 1 of the Bangui Agreement (except for Item b of Paragraph 1 of the Law, which is to provide the payment certificate), OAPI will notify the applicant or its agent to make amendments within 3 months after receiving the notice (30 days can be extended according to the circumstances). If it is not modified within the specified time limit, OAIP will reject the application.

● Substantive review

After the formal examination, OAPI conducts a substantive examination of the patent application to examine whether the invention can be granted a patent, whether the claims comply with the provisions, and whether it complies with the principle of oneness of the invention specified in Article 15. OAPI decides whether to prepare a search report according to the situation, determines that there is no conflicting application before the application date or priority date, and the invention meets the requirements of novelty, industrial applicability and creativity.

4. Issuance and publication of patent right certificate

OAPI will issue a patent certificate after the patent application has been reviewed by OAPI, meets the relevant provisions, and prepares the relevant search report (if applicable) according to Article 20 of Annex 1 of the Bangui Agreement. The applicant also has the right to apply for a one year delay in issuing the patent certificate. After the patent is granted, OAPI will publish the authorized patent in its official journal BOPI.

5. Protection period

The term of protection of the patent right is 20 years from the date of application.

The protection period of the additional certificate starts from the application date and can be protected until the expiration date of the longest protection period of the main patent. The invalidity of the main patent does not affect the validity of the additional certificate, provided that the additional certificate pays an annual fee.