Protection of intellectual property rights is critical to the successful participation of emerging businesses across the African continent in the wake of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has said.
Aripo is an intergovernmental organization for cooperation among African member States in patents, industrial designs and other intellectual property matters and receives applications for patents and registered trademarks.
It recently conducted a two day workshop at the ARIPO Secretariat in Harare.
“Utility model products are inextricably linked to our small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have the capability of uplifting our communities from unemployment. We are a creative and problem-solving society and because of that, I see endless opportunities in utility models and industrial designs for the continent,” said ARIPO director general, Bemanya Twebaze.
An industrial design registration protects the unique appearance of a product: its shape, configuration, pattern or ornament (or any combination of these features).
Twebaze said there are about 14 million registered designs globally and Africa only constitutes 2 percent presenting a strong case for local and regional businesses to register their trademarks and utility designs.
This comes at a time there is prevalence of counterfeit products across the African market.
With the coming of the AFCFTA, which provides unfettered access to over 1.6 billion people, the need for protection of industrial designs is not only urgent for small and medium enterprises but for bigger and well established companies as well.
“Companies can protect their designs on one hand and on the other consumers can rest assured that what they purchase is legit and secure,” said Dennis Scheirs, Team Leader at the Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation Project in Africa (AfrIPI).
Aripo has 21 member countries, including Zimbabwe.
The two day workshop aimed at raising awareness, providing training and promoting ARIPO’s regional system for registering designs and utility model trends in the ARIPO region.
“Africa is playing the catch-up game and we should be leaders in this field of intellectual property,” added Twebaze.
