Comprised of 17 African countries, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) provides a platform for the uniform protection of Trademarks in its member states. The year 2022 came in with changes in the Trademark regime in OAPI – ranging from procedure to deadlines to requirements etc.
Thinking of expanding your business, there could be uncertainty
regarding the protection of your Trademark in the OAPI
Jurisdiction. Some aspects that will be covered include:
- Why protect your Trademark in OAPI?
- When to file your Trademark at OAPI
- Availability search: to do or not to do?
- Defensive filing – a necessity?
- How to protect your Trademark when getting into a distribution
agreement.
- To litigate or settle amicably?
- Assessing counterfeit actions
The effective protection of your Trademark is not achieved in a haphazard manner. Rather, this is done by careful planning, budgeting, and assessment. Attending this webinar will provide insight on why protection of Trademarks in the OAPI jurisdiction is important, when to initiate the protection phase, how to protect your Trademark, etc. This webinar will cover the best practices, as well as the pitfalls and traps that should be avoided for the effective protection of your Trademarks.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.