Intellectual property protection in OAPI
OAPI general info
The Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle, or OAPI (English: African Intellectual Property Organization), is a regional intellectual property organisation headquartered in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The organization was established by the Bangui Agreement of March 2, 1977, which was subsequently amended in 1999 and 2015 (Bamako). The protection of the types of intellectual property registered with OAPI is automatically valid in its 17 current member states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
OAPI registrations automatically extend to all member states. Upon joining OAPI, member states waive their right to national filing. Therefore, it is not possible to designate individual member states. Decisions issued by a national court of any member state on the provisions of OAPI law are binding on all other member states upon notification to the Organization.
OAPI IP Legal Base
International organizations/agreements
Berne Convention (all countries are members)
Brussels Convention on Programme-carrying Signals (only Togo a member)
Budapest Treaty (OAPI is the member)
Cooperation Agreement between OAPI and EAPO
Hague Agreement on Designs (OAPI is a member) (9 countries are members; Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Togo are not yet members)
Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin (only Burkina Faso, Congo, Gabon and Togo are members)
Locarno Agreement on Classification of Designs (only Guinea is a member)
Nairobi Treaty on Olympic Symbol (only Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Togo are members)
Nice Agreement on Classification of Marks (only Benin and Guinea are members)
Paris Convention (all countries are members)
Patent Cooperation Treaty (all countries are members)
Phonograms Convention (only Burkina Faso and Togo are members)
Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Rome Convention (only Burkina Faso, Congo, Niger and Togo are members)
Singapore Treaty (only Mali is a member)
Strasbourg Agreement on Patent Classification (only Guinea is a member)
Trademark Law Treaty (only Burkina Faso and Guinea are members)
Vienna Agreement on Figurative Elements of Marks (only Guinea is a member)
WIPO Copyright Treaty (only Benin, Burkina, Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Togo are members)
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (only Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Togo are members)
WTO/TRIPS (all countries are members except Equatorial Guinea)
Patent Office Contact Details
Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle
158, place de la préfecture
B.P. 887 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Phone: (237) 222 20 57 00
Fax: (237) 222 20 57 27
Email: oapi@oapi.int
www.oapi.int
IP registration costs
Fees associated with registration of IP rights in OAPI are available in the fee calculator.
Brief summary is based on the information provided by Nico Halle & Co. Law Firm on 20.03.2025
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with the OAPI IP Laws