Prosecution

Inventa International contributed with the Portugal chapter in the International Comparative Legal Guides - Trade Marks 2021, published by Global Legal Group.

These guidelines summarize legislation and regulations regarding trademarks in Portugal focusing on the main steps, timings, requirements and other related rights.

Djibouti is one of the smallest countries in Africa. Its strength lies in its location at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and the fact that it is adjacent to some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, acting as a bridge between Africa and the Middle East.

Africa is the continent with the largest number of countries – 54. As trademarks are usually protected at a national level, an African-wide trademark protection strategy can be taxing. However, there are some shortcuts that will help applicants to secure African-wide trademark protection.

Madrid Protocol

The Madrid Protocol for the international registration of trademarks was established in 1989 and provides applicants with the possibility of designating several countries with a single application.

Introduction

This study aims to provide an approach of the topics followed by a patent examiner when a patent application is processed by a Patent Office during the substantive examination phase, in the context of the Angolan Patent Law (APL). As a matter of comparison, the same topics are evaluated according to the European Patent Convention (EPC), wherein we focus on the main differences between the two legal frameworks.

According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), total trade from Africa to the rest of the world averaged roughly $760.5 billion between 2015 and 2017. The UNCTD also indicates that the share of exports from Africa to the rest of the world ranged from 80% to 90% during the same period, making the continent the second most export-dependent region in the world.

Every year, since the year 2000, World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated on April 26. Every year, the World Intellectual Property Organization chooses a theme for this celebration. In 2021, the chosen theme was the importance of intellectual property (IP) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), when they bring their ideas to the market.

According to the available information on the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) database, since the 1st of April of 1996, 13.430 European Union trademark (EUTM) applications seeking protection for Chinese, Japanese and / or Korean characters were filed. Currently, resulting from those applications, there are 7.805 registered EUTM that consist of or include Chinese, Japanese and / or Korean characters.

Ethiopia is the 13th most populated country in the world and the second most populated in Africa. It is situated at the horn of the continent – one of the most strategic and disputed locations for international trade. In 2000 Ethiopia was the third poorest country in the world. Its annual gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was roughly $620 and more than 50% of the population lived below the global poverty line – the highest poverty rate in the world. However, since then, there has been considerable economic growth.

Over the years, concrete efforts have been made to develop Nigeria's indigenous IP regime. The earliest attempt at developing Nigeria’s IP dates to post-independence Nigeria. However, these various attempts have not been fruitful as Nigeria has failed to fully exploit the benefits that could be accrued from proper management and protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the country. The current economic and trade conditions in the world is susceptible to change, therefore requiring constant improvement to ensure economic development.

This study aims to display some information regarding the activity of filing patent applications before the Angolan National Patent Office (IAPI), presenting a profile of the main patent applicants and the kinds of technologies for which the applicants seek patent protection in Angola.