Source: KIPO
Date: 2010. 12. 22

Commissioner Soowon Lee of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Secretary General G.H. Sibanda of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO). The memorandum on cooperation in the field of intellectual property rights was signed on December 16, 2010, at the Korea Intellectual Property Service Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

ARIPO was established by governments of the African region on December 9, 1976, under the Lusaka Agreement, an agreement signed at the Zambian capital of Lusaka to foster cooperation in the field of intellectual property rights. The organization has 17 members, including Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Its primary objective is to oversee the intellectual property policy formulation in the African region.

The KIPO-ARIPO memorandum is KIPO’s first memorandum with a major African intellectual property organization.

The cooperative projects envisaged under the memorandum include, among other things, the provision of intellectual property education for ARIPO examiners, the supply of e-learning programs, and the development of computerized systems of patent administration.

Both agencies will also exchange patent-related data (such as the Korean Patent Abstracts); and the International Intellectual Property Training Institute of KIPO will allow ARIPO examiners to join its education program for developing countries.

"Recently, the strategic importance of African countries has been increasing," said Commissioner Lee. "By forming this partnership with ARIPO, we can expand our cooperation with African countries and share Korea’s experience of utilizing intellectual property rights for economic development."

Official name: African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)
Mandate: Established by governments in the African region to foster cooperation in the field of intellectual property rights
History: Established on December 9, 1976, under the Lusaka Agreement
Location: Harare, Zimbabwe
Organization: Council of Ministers, Administrative Council, Secretariat, Board of Appeal, Finance Committee, Staff Affairs Committee
Member countries (17 countries): Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe