Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle

The Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle or OAPI (English: African Intellectual Property Organization) is an intellectual property organization, headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The organisation was created by Bangui Agreement Relating to the Creation of an African Intellectual Property Organization of March 2, 1977. The Bangui Agreement was subsequently amended in 1999 and 2015, and entered into force on November 14, 2020.
Its 17 member states are mostly French-speaking countries.
The Bangui agreement gave the following responsibilities to OAPI:
The organisation has three organs: The Administrative Council; the High Commission of Appeal; and the Directorate General.
The Administrative Council consists of representatives of OAPI Member States. Their functions include drawing up regulations for the implementation of the agreement, establishing the financial regulations and the fees to be paid, supervising the implementation of the regulation and creating ad hoc committees on specific issues. They are also to draw up appropriate regulations for the implementation of six international treaties and agreements, which all the Member States has agreed to enter under the Agreements. The official sessions of the Administrative Council are held annually though unofficial sessions can be called at any time to address pressing issues. The council is headed and chaired by a president.
The High Commission of Appeal is composed of three members selected by drawing lots from a list of representatives designated by Member States. Its functions include to rule on appeal from rejections of applications for titles of industrial property protection, rejections of request for the maintenance or extension of terms of protection, rejection of requests for reinstatement and decisions on opposition.
The Directorate General is placed under the authority of the Director General and responsible for the executive work of the organisation. It is responsible for the daily activities of the organisation and implements the decisions of the Administrative Council and other tasks arising from provisions of the agreement.
The OAPI Centre for Mediation and Arbitration is a neutral, international and non-profit dispute resolution provider that offers alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options. OAPI mediation, arbitration, expedited arbitration, and expert determination enable private parties to settle their domestic or cross-border IP and technology disputes out of court.
The organisation is currently headed by Denis Loukou Bohoussou (from Côte d'Ivoire) following his installation ceremony on 31 July 2017 at OAPI’s headquarters in Yaounde, Cameroon. Bohoussou will serve a five-year term and replaces Paulin Edou Edou (of Gabon) who was OAPI’s Director-General for ten years (2007-2017).
Jean-Baptiste Wago (from the Central African Republic) is the Deputy Director-General, and Touré Serigne Momar Nasir (from Senegal) is the Financial Controller.
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The Bangui Agreement covers patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial design right, trade names, geographical indications, copyright, unfair competition, integrated circuit layouts and plant variety rights.
Patent matters are dealt with in Annex I of the Bangui Agreement. Patent applications must be filed at the OAPI office. Alternatively, member states may require that applicants domiciled in the territory of a member state must first file the application with the national administration (OAPI Liaison office) of the member state. In that case, the application must be transmitted to OAPI by the national administration within a period of five days.
OAPI member countries are also members of the Paris Convention, the Budapest treaty, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the TRIPS Agreement.
Since OAPI is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), patent protection may also be obtained by way of a PCT application.
The Bangui Agreement, in Annex III, provides for the protection of trade marks, including service marks, and for well-known marks. Specific provision is made for the registration of collective marks. OAPI is now a member of the Madrid Agreement. With this accession by OAPI, the Madrid System now provides brand owners the potential to protect their products through one international application covering more than 100 countries.
The Bangui Agreement in Annex V provides for the protection of tradenames or commercial names.
The Bangui Agreement in Annex VI provides for the protection of Geographical indication.
Design matters are dealt with in Annex IV of the Bangui Agreement. Design applications must be filed at the OAPI office or with the Ministry in a member state responsible for industrial property. In the latter case, the Ministry must transmit the application to the OAPI office within five days.
OAPI is a member of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. As such, design protection in OAPI can be obtained either via an OAPI application or via an international application under the Hague, designating OAPI.