Africa Regonal Intellectual Property Organisation

The history of ARIPO goes back to the early seventies when a Regional Seminar on patents and copyright for English - speaking African countries was held in Nairobi. That seminar recommended that a regional industrial property organization be set up. In 1973 the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) responded to a request by these English-speaking countries for assistance in pooling their resources together in industrial property matters by establishing a regional organization. Following a number of meetings at ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa and WIPO in Geneva, a draft Agreement on the Creation of the Industrial Property Organization for English-speaking Africa (ESARIPO) was prepared. This agreement, now known as the Lusaka Agreement, was adopted by a Diplomatic Conference held in Lusaka, Zambia on December 9, 1976. Find more on http://www.aripo.org/index.php/about-aripo