Among the successes of the 46th Administrative Council Session which took place from 21-25 November 2022 in Maputo, are the adopted amendments to the Harare and Banjul Protocols. After a thorough review, it was the Council’s decision to adopt these changes as a way to continuously simplify processes for applicants and ease facilitation by the ARIPO Secretariat.
Some of the changes to the Harare Protocol include the parameters for not granting patents in respect of plants or animals exclusively obtained by means of an essentially biological process, as well as amendments for International Applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The notable amendments to the Banjul protocol include procedures to process applications related to Changes in Registered Particulars, Cancellation of a registered mark or Withdrawal of Application or Reduction of Classes, and the corresponding forms and fees structure.
Follow the links for an in-depth review of the amendments which came into effect on the 1st of January 2023:
https://www.aripo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Notice-to-Applicants-on-Amendments-to-the-Harare-Protocol.pdfhttps://www.aripo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Notice-to-Applicants-on-Amendments-to-the-Banjul-Protocol.pdf