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59 J. Afr. L. 1 (2015)

handle is hein.journals/jaflaw59 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of African Law, 59, 1 (2015), 1-24 ( SOAS, University of London, 2015. doi:10.1017/S0021855314000229 African Union Rising to the Need for Continental IP Protection? The Establishment of the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization Y Mupangavanhu* Abstract Intellectual property rights protection is at the forefront of some of the major con- troversies regarding the impact of globalization. African countries have in recent years participated to an unprecedented degree in both international and bilateral initiatives dealing with intellectual property. The negotiating positions have been varied and, from a regional perspective, have not been coherent at some levels, with different countries advancing different positions. African countries have adopted regional integration as a strategy to deal with the challenges of globaliza- tion. Regional integration is believed to increase negotiating capacities and competi- tiveness in global trade. It is also believed to improve access to foreign technology. The African Union is facilitating the establishment of a continental intellectual prop- erty body. Accordingly, the main aim of this article is to discuss the establishment of the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization in line with the African Union's vision for regional integration. INTRODUCTION The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and the Organization Africaine de la Propri&t Intellectuelle (African Intellectual Property Organization - OAPI) are currently the two African regional organiza- tions that are responsible for managing the different forms of intellectual property (IP) in the region. OAPI has 17 members1 and ARIPO has 19 mem- bers,2 out of a total of 54 African countries.3 The remaining countries are * Senior lecturer, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. The article has been drawn from the author's PhD thesis: The Regional Integration of African Trade Mark Laws: Challenges and Possibilities (2014, University of the Western Cape). 1 OAPI member states include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, C6te d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo. See: <http://www.oapi.int/index.php/en/aipo/etats-membres> (last accessed 17 November 2014). 2 The ARIPO member states include Botswana, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe: ARIPO Member states, available at: <http://www.aripo.org/index.php/about-aripo/membership-memberstate> (last accessed 17 November 2014). 3 There are currently 54 independent countries in Africa following the independence of the Republic of South Sudan on 9 July 2011. See T Tekle African Union accepts South Sudan as

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