ARIPO Patent Applications

ARIPO is the African Regional Industrial Property Organisation for English-speaking Africa. The member countries are Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Seychelles, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Please note that protection can alternatively be obtained on an individual basis in any of these countries via a national application in such country.

ARIPO is a member of the International Convention and of the PCT.

Filing Requirements

The requirements for filing a non-PCT regional phase application in ARIPO are as follows:

1. Power of Attorney (simply signed) - can be late filed within 2 months;
2. Description, claims, drawings, and abstract in English - required on the day of filing;
3. Assignment of Invention - can be late filed, no set deadline; and
4. Priority document with verified English translation - can be late filed, within 3 and 6 months, respectively.

The requirements for filing a PCT regional phase application in ARIPO are as follows:

1. Power of Attorney (simply signed) - can be late filed within 2 months;
2. Description, claims, drawings, and abstract in English - required on the day of filing;
3. Copy of PCT International advertisement - required on day of filing;
4. Copy of International Search Report - can be late filed, no set deadline; and
5. Copy of International Preliminary Examination Report - can be late filed, no set deadline. 

Costs

Please click here for our patent tariff of charges for ARIPO, from which you will note that the cost of filing is dependent, inter alia, on the number of designated states, the number of priority claims and the number of outstanding renewal fees payable upon filing for PCT applications.

Please note further that, according to ARIPO rules and practice, PCT applications must enter the regional phase at ARIPO with the specification currently on file at WIPO. However, as surcharges for claims over 10 are only payable together with the grant and publication fees, the claims can be amended after receipt of the substantive examination report in order to reduce/obviate such claim surcharges.

Examination must be requested within 3 years of the effective filing date together with payment of the search and examination report fees as well as surcharge fees for claims over 10 and pages over 30.

Once examination has been requested, the application will undergo substantive examination. If official actions are issued in this respect, the costs of responding to same are dependent on the time spent.

Once accepted, grant and publication fees are payable.

Please note further that no fees are payable in the individual designated countries upon grant as granted ARIPO patents automatically extend to all designated countries i.e. there is no procedure after grant similar to the validation procedure for a European patent.

Renewal Fees

Renewal fees fall due annually commencing on the anniversary date of the filing date.