Benin 

Benin

Patent - Benin

Covers its member states' lack of national Intellectual Property laws, with automatic and unified protection

An OAPI (African Intellectual Property Organization) encompasses the majority of African French speaking countries and was created March 2 nd , 1977 with the Bangui Agreement with the goal of fostering cooperation between member-states and the sharing of common objectives in Intellectual Property matters. The most distinctive characteristic and advantage of OAPI is that a single registration is automatically effective in all its member-states, without the possibility of designating only some countries. Member states do not have national Intellectual Property Laws.

The Bangui Agreement works as a common Intellectual Property Act and its provisions have the effect of national law in each member-state and no validation or extension is required. The organization is also a member of the Paris Union and the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

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OAPI Map

Browse countries that are part of OAPI

Benin

Patent Details and Timeframes

Priority claim

Available

Substantive Examination

Available

Body responsible for non-use cancellations

Court

Time until registration

Special Case

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Opposition Period

Special Case

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Use Requirement Period

3 years

Requirements

  •  Power of attorney, simply signed.
  •  Applicant data.
  •  Copy of priority document (if applicable).
  •  Inventor(s) data.
  •  Patent title, abstract, description, claims and drawings.
  •  Power of attorney, simply signed.
  •  Deed of assignment, simply signed by the assignor and the assignee.
  •  Power of attorney from the assignee, simply signed.
  •  Power of attorney, simply signed.
  •  Certificate of change of name.
  •  Power of attorney, simply signed.
  •  Certificate of change of address.
  •  Power of attorney from the licensee, simply signed.
  •  License Agreement signed by both parties.
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African Focus

Trust our extensive experience in Africa

Taking this into account, we are pleased to present our "Trademarks in Africa" and new "Patents in Africa" Booklets. These booklets contain comprehensive information regarding trademarks and patents in each African Jurisdiction.

Why Inventa?

Global Network with a special focus in Africa

Through a network of local offices, including several locations in Africa, and an extensive network of associates, we are committed in delivering a global coverage with local experience.

Experience

With over 45 years of experience in Intellectual Property, Inventa has served thousands of clients, from small entrepreneurs and startups, to multinationals holding large trademark and patent portfolios, and other entities dealing with R&D on a daily basis. Furthermore, our experience allows us to understand the caveats of the different industries, since we maintain relationships with clients from different sectors, including food and beverages companies, communications, IT, pharmaceutical, manufacturers, oil & gas companies, financial institutions, business services companies and more.

Tech drive

Inventa recognizes that in this day and age, information management and the internet have taken over many aspects of business. To accompany the changing needs of our clients, over the last few years we have increased our activity in the area of technological infrastructures and information systems. In this way, Inventa seeks to respond to the different demands of both the market and its clients.

Global Network

Thanks to our large network of contacts and associate level, we offer our clients a vast team of highly-specialized professionals in the Intellectual Property field and related strategic sectors. Our professionals guarantee highly-personalized and efficient accompaniment of all our services.

Local Presence in Africa

African Countries present some of the greater challenges when it comes to protecting Intellectual Property. As such, local presence is paramount to attain a high standard of quality, similar to what can be practiced in other regions. Our local presence in Africa allows us to deal with the challenges presented to us, whether it’s red tape, instability, cultural differences or language barriers. The key to our success in Africa has been the training of local technical staff and their demonstrated enthusiasm for Intellectual Property.

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Latest news

OPINION

The sugarloaf pineapple: GIs as a development tool in action

The west African nation of Benin has registered its first protected geographical indication at the African Intellectual Property Organisation on 28 October.  The honour goes to the sugarloaf pineapple from the Allada Plateau, which has juicy and sweet white flesh, and the distinction of remaining green when fully ripe. According to the Pan-African Geographical Indications Information Hub website, this registration is the result of several years of collaboration between the government of Benin, industry stakeholders, the European Union (providing technical and financial support) and the French Development Agency (through the Private Sector Stakeholder Support Project) – with additional guidance from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. The government of Benin is investing in the transformation of its agricultural sector, following an approach that combines the territorial and value chains in homogeneous areas or poles of agricultural development to value its local potential. The government has paid special attention to the development of value chains with high value-added potential, such as the pineapple industry – pineapples are one of the main crops with export potential after cotton and cashew nuts. The sustainable development of production, efficiency and competitiveness of the pineapple industry has been promoted by a government programme since 2016. The fruit is grown mainly in the southern and central regions of the country, and 83% of the national production is concentrated around the Allada Plateau in the Atlantic Department. As well as the aforementioned development projects, the European Union is supporting Benin’s agricultural sector through a private sector development project, the Projet d’Appui au Développement du Secteur Privé. The European Commission published a report on Pineapple Value Chain Analysis in Benin, which stated that the cooperation contributes both to fostering a favourable environment for value-chain development, and to promote efficient business models that generate sustainable and inclusive value for the actors involved. Additionally, it is intended to encourage the establishment of agricultural and industrial clusters and to make the agricultural sector, which employs around 70% of the working population in Benin, a lever for economic development. New areas of production are also progressively emerging. Since the launch of the African Union Geographical Indications strategy in 2017, a committee has been established with the Commission’s Directorate-General for agriculture to guide the implementation of the plan. It is organised by the African Union Commission, the two African Intellectual Property Offices (the African Intellectual Property Organisation and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation) and the European Commission. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the European Union, WIPO and EUIPO are also invited members. The strategy recognises the limitations of international protection of Geographical Indications and is implementing convergent rules and practices at a continental level. This change will certainly encourage trade and improve the positioning of African products on regional, continental and international markets. This first certification for Benin is of utmost importance since a Protected Geographical Indication signifies the quality and authenticity of a product, which has qualities that are specific to a geographical region. This incentivises producers to preserve local knowledge and techniques, and ultimately protects the product. With this certification, Benin gains international recognition of one of its main agricultural products.  The country’s entire agricultural sector stands to benefit from the reputational and marketing advantages of the Protect Geographical Indication, which will bring increased revenue for producers. “It is a very long process, but Geographical Indications represent a real tool for development and, if they are successful, they can bring value to the whole food value chain, including smallholders,” refers Sibylle Slattery, project coordinator in the Food and Nutrition division at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Furthermore, the protection of Geographical Indications could help preserve and promote Africa’s rich agricultural tradition, creating a legal framework based on intellectual property and at the same time contributing to rural development in African countries, since these traditional products might disappear without the added boost given by this form of protection.   This is a co-published article, which was originally published in the World Trademark Review (WTR).

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