OAPI is an acronym for Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (In English: African Intellectual Property Organization). The organization is made up of 17 member states who are mostly French speaking with its headquarters in Younde, Cameroon. By filing one Intellectual Property application in its headquarters, you get protection in all the member states.
The member states are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Comoros.
The only way Intellectual Property applications are filed in these member states is by filing a single application in the OAPI headquarters. National filings are not permitted.
General Information
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Nice Classification - Yes
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Multiple Class Filings - Yes
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Paris Convention - Yes
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Madrid Protocol - Yes
Filing Requirements
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Simply signed Power of Attorney
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Representation of the trademark
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Name, address and nationality of the applicant
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List of goods and/or services
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Certified True Copy of priority claim (if applicable)
Validity
10 years from filing date and renewable every 10 years thereafter.