South Africa: Draft Law To Establish Congolese Industrial Property Office Adopted

The Senate has adopted a draft law establishing the Congolese Industrial Property Office.

With the establishment of the Industrial Property Office, the aim is to provide technical assistance to local economic operators, researchers and inventors preparing documents to obtain industrial property titles, assignments and licensing. It will also provide local services to national users; such as receiving, processing and transmission of applications for protection of industrial property rights through indirect filing for OAPI.

‎The Industrial Property Office will have legal personality and financial autonomy. Its other focus will be combating infringements of industrial property law in the Congo, in particular counterfeiting and unfair competition. In addition, it will promote the use of the industrial property system to foster creativity and technology transfer.‎

Being member of OAPI, the Senate reiterated that during OAPIs 40th session which was held in Burkina Faso in 1979, it was decided that in each Member State of OAPI, a national structure responsible for relaying its actions at the local level must be created. It mentioned that one of the missions of the Congolese Industrial Property Office would be to ensure the representation of OAPI.

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