The ARIPO Secretariat is located in Harare, Zimbabwe. Also known as the ARIPO Head Quarters, the Secretariat is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the Organization and the implementation of policies issued by the Administrative Council or/and the Council of Ministers. The Secretariat is headed by a Director General who is the Principal Executive Officer of the Organization. Each holder of the Director General’s office must be a citizen of an AtRIPO Member State.
Current Functions of ARIPO
Aspirations of the Lusaka Agreement have since its signing been expounded into practical implementation by additional treaties each focusing on a specific subject of intellectual property.
These treaties are:
- Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs
- Banjul Protocol on Marks
- Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore
- Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants.
- Kampala Protocol on Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights.