What is the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) and which countries are part of it?

The Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) is a centralized system for registering intellectual property in 16 French-speaking African countries. Established by the Bangui Agreement on March 2, 1977, OAPI aims to enable member states to collaborate, share resources, and exchange ideas to address economic and social development needs while promoting literary and artistic expression. OAPI assists member countries in organizing administrative strategies to protect property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, and patents.

The OAPI treaty provides trademark protection in the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.