Whether it is due to financial reasons or simply a deadline that was missed due to the challenging circumstances we currently find ourselves in, it is no surprise that a few ARIPO applications have lapsed during this pandemic.
ARIPO’s online IP database is impressively efficient which means that if you are not on the ball, applications are automatically marked as lapsed on the database the day after a deadline is missed.
However, all is not lost and there is no need for that feeling of dread when it suddenly dawns on you that you have, in fact, missed a deadline. Restoration of a lapsed ARIPO application is possible. However, there’s a catch:
According to the Harare Protocol:
“Any request for re-establishment of rights under Section 5bis, paragraph 1, shall be filed in writing within 2 months of the removal of the cause of non-compliance with the period, but at the latest within one year of expiry of the unobserved time limit…”
This means that an applicant only has 1 year after the missed deadline to file a request to restore an application, pay the required fees and restore the application. Should an application for restoration not be filed within that 1 year period, it will no longer be possible to restore the application.
When it comes to restoration of a right of priority, a request for the restoration of the right of priority must be filed within 2 months of expiry of that period.
Thus, although restoration of an ARIPO application is possible, one must still be aware of the time limits set out in the Harare Protocol to file such a request.
For more information on restoration of an ARIPO application or ARIPO patents, designs and utility models contact us at [email protected]
