Prosecution

Western Sahara is an Atlantic-coastal desert area of 266,000km2, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. A former Spanish colony, it has been on the the United Nations (UN) list of non-self-governing territories since 1965 along with 17 other territories.

‘Non-self-governing territories’ are defined as "territories whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government” according to Chapter XI of the UN Charter.

AfrIPI is the EUIPO’s first IP-focused project that collaborates with African jurisdictions.

Expected to last four years, it was launched in February 2020 and the Project Steering Committee’s inaugural meeting was on 7 September 2020. In addition to the European Commission and the EUIPO, the other project partners are the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), the African Intellectual PropertyOrganisation (OAPI) and the African Union Commission.

Counterfeit is a world spread phenomenon in which the product of someone, company or individual, is imitated to reproduce the original, although often made with materials and components of reduced quality and illegally bearing a trademark or a copyright of another without their permission.

Even though Cape Verde has only a slight presence in international and regional treaties and conventions – it only became a signatory to the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property in 2008 – its Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has always shown proof of a particular feature: its rigorousness with the formal requirements for filing industrial property rights, specifically supporting documentation.

The formal requirements for a trademark application in Cape Verde when the applicant is a company are as follows:

In March, the Angolan government declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak of covid-19, enforcing mandatory lockdowns and the closure of all establishments trading non-essential goods and services. This lasted approximately one month, and since then the subject of the mandatory use of trademarks has frequently arisen.

Trademark owners have a monopoly over the use of their registered mark insofar as they can prevent third parties from using equal or similar signs on the market for the same or related products and services. However, in order to benefit from trademark rights, the owner must meet certain requirements, one of which is to use the mark with regard to the products or services for which it was registered.

Requirement of use

Africa is the second largest continent in terms of size and population. Prior to the covid-19 outbreak, its young communities, developing economies and access to commodities meant that Africa was increasingly becoming a recipient of foreign direct investment.

Foreign companies wishing to protect their brands in any of the 54 countries on the continent should be aware of a few key IP management tips to ensure the protection of their trademarks without harming their legal protection.

It is common to see a peak in trademark applications that contain terms associated with a recent event and the covid-19 outbreak is no exception.

Background

Following national protests relating to the fatal shooting of singer Hachalu Hundessa on 29 June, Internet access was cut across Ethiopia the next day. Hachalu was an activist and important figure in the Oromo community. Up until the cut, content showing protesters in the capital and across the Oromia region could be seen on social media.