The 46th Session of the Administrative Council of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) hosted by the Government of the Republic of Mozambique from 21st to 25th November 2022 commenced this morning at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Maputo, Mozambique.
The Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Mozambique, Honourable Silvino Moreno, is the Guest of Honour, with the special guest being the World Intellectual Property Organization Director General, Mr. Daren Tang.
The Administrative Council Session that started today will deliberate on the proposals to amend some of our Protocols on Industrial Property to make them more user-friendly and align them to relevant international treaties and best practices. Further, members of the Council will also discuss, among others, the draft Regulations for the Implementation of the newly adopted Kampala Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights. The Administrative Council will also consider administrative matters regarding Human Capital, Audit, and Finance, including the proposed budget and programme of activities for 2023.
The 22 Member States of ARIPO are represented by the Heads of Intellectual Property (IP) Offices which form the ARIPO Administrative Council. The ARIPO Member States are Botswana, Cape Verde, Kingdom of Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe and two Observer States from Angola and Burundi.
The other Cooperating Partners attending the session apart from WIPO include the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), the European Patent Office (EPO), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPA), the IP Office of Singapore, International Trademark Association (INTA), International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), and the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO). The Japan Patent Office and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) joined us virtually. We also thank our other partners who did not make it to the session, including the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO), and the United States Patent Office (USPTO). We were also joined by some of our Patent and Trademark Agents and Attorneys that support the patent and trademark systems of ARIPO.
Please follow the Official Opening Session on the ARIPO YouTube account https://youtu.be/c8nr8SbIwEI.