ARIPO

Plenary sessions continue here in Cape Town 🇿🇦 Day 2 session 2 of the #AFSTACongress2026 as moderated by Mr Charles Miller focused on : "The role of plant variety protection in protecting innovation and combating illegal seed practices" MORE: shorturl.at/gYRyC

Africa’s innovation future depends on institutions that are decisive, collaborative, and outcome-focused. At @_ARIPO, we are fostering an enabling IP environment where ideas can grow, investment can thrive, and innovation contributes directly to sustainable development. Through collaboration with universities in our Member States, IP is now part of the curriculum at Africa University, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and University of Dar es Salaam.

As @_ARIPO marks 50 years, we do so with clarity of purpose: to make intellectual property work for Africa’s development. Our next chapter will link IP to real outcomes—commercialisation, competitiveness, investment, jobs, and cultural vitality.

Happy Independence Day, Namibia! 🇳🇦 #ARIPOMemberStates @bipa_nam

🎊Congratulations to Uganda 🇺🇬 on the passage of the Copyright & Neighbouring Rights Amendment Bill 2025. @URSBHQ @Parliament_Ug @MoJCA_UG #ARIPO is encouraged by this progress and remains committed to providing support consistent with the #KampalaProtocol on the Voluntary Registration of Copyright and Related Rights. 🤝 #creativeeconomy #copyright #ARIPOat50

Africa’s patenting gap remains a challenge — and collaboration is helping to address it. @_ARIPO values its partnerships with Japan Patent Office, World Intellectual Property Organization, and European Patent Office in strengthening patent drafting and examination across the region. Together, we are ensuring that African R&D translates into strong patents, partnerships, and investment.

Can innovators in the ARIPO System get faster, more efficient #patent processing across multiple jurisdictions? Yes! Through the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) innovators access: ✅Accelerated patent approvals through use of existing examination results from participating offices ✅Reduced costs and duplication by avoiding repeated substantive examination ✅Expanded global reach with easier access to protection across multiple international markets The Global Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is a collaborative initiative among patent offices that streamlines examination by allowing applicants to leverage prior examination results from one office to fast-track applications in another. Learn more:🔗 aripo.org/news/ARIPO+Joi…

The February 2026 issue of the ARIPO Journal (Vol. XLIII, No. 2. February 2026) has been published. Click the link below to download it for free. eservice.aripo.org/ppb/pjd/PPBJou…

Africa’s journey toward gender equity is inseparable from the strength of its innovation ecosystems. When women are enabled to create, protect, and commercialise their ideas, the entire continent benefits. Every woman who patents an invention, registers a brand, or protects a creative work strengthens Africa’s competitiveness and shapes its future. @_ARIPO #WomensMonth #ARIPOat50

ARIPO at 50: A call to strengthen Africa’s intellectual property institutions and protect the continent’s ideas for the next generation of innovators.

A thriving knowledge economy grows when every voice has the opportunity to contribute. When people across all demographics can create and protect their ideas, innovation can emerge from anywhere — from rural communities to urban centres, from young minds to established enterprises. Through inclusive intellectual property systems, @_ARIPO helps ensure ideas from every corner of our region can take root, scale, and create impact. #ARIPOat50

The new Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 is a game-changer for our creative industry. Here is what’s changing: ✔ Global Standards: Aligns Uganda’s copyright framework with international conventions to protect creators’ works globally. ✔ Better Regulation: Streamlines the creative sector to ensure artists and creators benefit fairly from their talent. ✔ Stricter Penalties: Introduces tougher fines and longer jail sentences to deter piracy and copyright infringement. ✔ Digital Protection: Grants new “Take-Down” powers allowing the Registrar or copyright owners to remove infringing content from the internet quickly. ✔ Faster Justice: Expands the powers of the Registrar of Copyright to resolve disputes directly, reducing lengthy and costly court processes for creators.

Happy Independence Day, Mauritius! 🇲🇺#ARIPOMemberStates

The @_ARIPO Management Team has convened its Annual Strategy Review and 2026 Planning Session. As ARIPO marks its 50th Anniversary, we are aligning priorities, reviewing performance, and strengthening readiness to serve Africa’s evolving innovation and intellectual property landscape. This session reinforces ARIPO’s resilience, relevance, and readiness to deliver meaningful impact for Member States.

Patent examiners and intellectual property professionals from across Africa are in Harare for the @WIPO Regional Training on Patent Examination and the Patent Cooperation Treaty for African Countries, a three-day regional training programme aimed at bolstering the continent’s capacity to examine patents and navigate the complex machinery of the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The workshop will run until Thursday, 12 March 2026, and has been organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization in collaboration with ARIPO and with the support of the Japan Patent Office @JPO_JPN. Read more: 🔗 aripo.org/news/Patent+Ex…

In my speech delivered by the Director of IP, Mr. David Njuguna, I underscored that, as @_ARIPO, our objective is to ensure that the knowledge exchanged during this programme translates into stronger and more consistent patent examination practices across our Member States. This training, therefore, contributes to strengthening the foundations of a patent system that gives African innovators the confidence that their ideas will be examined with rigour, protected with integrity, and positioned to compete globally.

Today, @_ARIPO welcomes Patent Examiners from across Africa for the @WIPO Regional Training on Patent Examination and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, hosted by ARIPO with the valued support of the @JPO_JPN. A robust African knowledge economy requires a strong patent examination system that matches the ambition of our innovators. I extend my appreciation to our partners for collaboration on this programme, which reflects our shared commitment to strengthening the technical excellence of patent examination in the African Region.

Africa’s innovation future depends on systems that leave no one behind. Inclusive intellectual property frameworks ensure ideas from every corner of society are protected, commercialised, and transformed into engines of sustainable development. At @_ARIPO, inclusion is not optional — it is foundational.

This International Women’s Day 2026, we join IP offices worldwide in advancing efforts to increase women's participation in IP and innovation and drive productivity, competition, and economic growth. We recognize that women are under-represented across the IP ecosystem, and justice requires addressing persistent imbalances. By improving access to IP tools, highlighting women innovators, and strengthening education and advisory services, we can empower women to protect, manage, and commercialize their inventions and creations. Advancing women’s participation in innovation is essential for inclusive growth, resilience, and sustainable development. We commit to action opening pathways for future generations and ensuring women and girls can fully contribute to global progress. #WomenAndIP #IWD2026 wipo.int/en/web/women/w… @WIPO

Happy Independence Day, Ghana! 🇬🇭#ARIPOMemberStates