Procurement Notices

The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) was established in 1976, largely motivated by the need to pool resources and to avoid duplication of financial and human resources. Another key objective was to promote harmonization and development of intellectual property laws appropriate to the needs of its members and the region. The Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs, which entered into force in 1984, is the governing instrument on the administration and management of patents for ARIPO. At present, 18 Sub-Saharan African countries are party to the Harare Protocol. Of these six are developing countries while the rest are least developed countries (LDCs). Of the LDCs, 4 are not members of the WTO. 

Given ARIPO’s status as a regional patent office, successful use of the TRIPS flexibilities hinges considerably on the practices of ARIPO. A critical question is whether ARIPO’s patent filing and grant practices are coherent with, and enable the achievement of, the objectives of the above-mentioned instruments, and public health and development considerations. Recent research suggests “current operations of the ARIPO does not facilitate full use of TRIPS flexibilities and instead erects patent barriers to the importation and local production of affordable medicines.”

A three-day regional Conference is proposed in November 2017 in Lilongwe, Malawi, to discuss recent global developments affecting intellectual property law and policy, and undertake an assessment of the Harare Protocol’s relevance and effectiveness in addressing the needs of member states, with reference to the need for integrating public health perspectives and the special needs of LDCs. The meeting has been proposed to be convened in Malawi for a few reasons:

1. There has been political commitment from His Excellency President Mutharika in the past on issues of intellectual property and public health including his role in championing the extension of the WTO Waiver for LDCs at the 2015 General Assembly;
2. The President’s Chief Economic Advisor Dr. Collins Magalasi participated in the Johannesburg Dialogue of the High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines in March 2016 and specifically raised ARIPO as a matter of concern for Malawi;
3. Malawi is currently reforming its intellectual property legislation; and
4. There is interest and capacity within the UN in Malawi to promote a treatment access agenda.

The Conference will therefore be hosted by the Malawi Government under the leadership of President Arthur Peter Mutharika.

Specifically, there are three priority areas that warrant discussion and deliberation; namely (1) the implementation and strategic use of the LDCs’ transition periods; (2) the effective integration of public health perspectives and concerns into the ARIPO legal instruments, as well as administration and practices; and (3) the need for increased information and transparency in the patent administration and management system to optimize the benefits of the system.