24 March
On 24 March, the President met Denis Bohoussou, the Director General of
the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI), to exchange
on strategic developments at both offices since the last meeting in November
2020. The heads discussed a validation agreement between the EPO and OAPI’s
member states, clarifying the next legal and procedural steps.
The validation
agreement breaks new ground for the Office and is expected to provide EPO applicants with direct access to
high-quality patent protection in 17 states in Africa, a market of some 280
million inhabitants. During the meeting, the EPO underlined its willingness to
provide comprehensive legal, administrative and technical assistance to boost
support to OAPI and its member states in order to facilitate the entry into
force of the validation agreement.
During the
virtual meeting, the OAPI delegation provided an update on their plan to
introduce search and substantive patent examination in line with the recently
revised Bangui Agreement (the treaty establishing the organisation). The EPO
underlined its support for these plans and will continue to contribute by
offering training to OAPI examiners and helping draft the Patent Examination
Guidelines.
Additionally,
the delegations exchanged on the Office’s upcoming outreach projects and
activities, including the Patent Engineer Master programme held at the
„Institut National Polytechnique de Yamoussoukro“. Following on from
the training event held in November 2021, the EPO and OAPI will host additional
events and training to support capacity building in OAPI member-states. .
Further
information: