OAPI (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle) is an African regional system, where the registration is effected by the Organization and comprehends the registration in all its member states, which are the following, in what trademarks, patents and designs are concerned: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
Please be informed that OAPI member states have no national offices and therefore, the registration is only possible by means of the regional system.
Design registration in OAPI:
- Filing the Application;
- Issuance of filing receipt and filing number;
- Formal Examination: the design applications in OAPI undergo formal examination only, verifying if all required documents have been submitted and if the application meets formal requirements.
- Publication: Once the design passes the examination, it is published for public inspection.
- Registration and Certificate: Once the design is published, the application proceeds directly to the registration stage without any opposition period. Following that phase, a certificate of grant will be issued.
Required Documents:
- Power of Attorney (simply signed);
- Applicant Data;
- Graphical representation;
- Product information;
- Deed of assignment (if applicable) simply signed;
- Certified copy of the Priority document (if applicable).
Time Frame of Design Registration in OAPI
The expected timeframe for a design to be registered is 6 to 16 months from the filing date.
Multiple Designs: According to the OAPI legislation, similar designs (up to 100) may be filed in one design application if they belong to the same class of the Locarno classification, additionally, the designs shall be numbered from first to last. Designs beyond the hundredth will not be considered validly deposited.