African Intellectual Property Organization (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle) (OAPI) ensures protection of intellectual property like brand, patent or design registration etc. quicker and cheaper in most African French speaking countries.
Member states of OAPI:
- Benin,
- Burkina Faso,
- Cameroon,
- Central African Republic,
- Chad,
- Comoros,
- The Republic of Congo,
- Côte d'Ivoire,
- Gabon,
- Guinea,
- Equatorial Guinea,
- Mali,
- Mauritania,
- Niger,
- Guinea Bissau,
- Senegal and Togo.
Trademark application is more easily and quickly in party countries with OAPI by remove the obligation to file an application at the IP office in each country in which protection is sought.