Our second trip in Q4 of 2025 was from 12 – 18 November 2025 when, Adams & Adams Partner, Jameel Hamid, and Africa Practice Manager, Menzi Maboyi, travelled to Accra, Ghana, to visit the Ghana Industrial Property Office (GHIPO), under the auspices of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) and our Associate Office. The objective of our trip was to meet the Registrar General (RG), Mrs Grace Issahaque, to discuss various aspects of IP practice in Ghana.
Our team was warmly welcomed by the RG and staff. We commended the RG on the improved service at GHIPO. We were able to raise our pressing concern on the current Registry directive in respect of the issuance of Powers of Attorney (POA) directly from a proprietor appointing a local IP practitioner
Other concerns that were raised related to the current backlog at the Registry and we were able to submit lists of outstanding matters to the Registry. We were encouraged by the RG’s undertaking to address these issues.
The RG outlined some of the successes and plans at GHIPO, such as, the digitisation of all records since 2019, the sending of examiners to WIPO for training, and the plans to go online in 2026.
Our visit to GHIPO came at an opportune time as we were able to hold meaningful discussions with the RG. We were happy to note the concerted efforts to improve services at GHIPO.
Ghana remains an important jurisdiction for Adams & Adams, and we continue exploring ways to further enhance our IP offering by working with partners who share the firm’s ethos of integrity, commitment to service excellence and creation of value to our clients. We look forward to further engagements with GHIPO.