African Regional Intellectual Property Organization

[8] During the conference, a draft agreement toward the establishment of an organisation on industrial property for the English-speaking African countries was prepared and several resolutions were passed to facilitate that goal; it was also agreed to eventually hold a diplomatic conference to adopt the draft.

[8] The diplomatic conference to adopt the agreement was subsequently convened by WIPO and UNECA in Lusaka, Zambia, from 6 to 9 December 1976.

[9] The general purpose of the new regional organisation, known at the time as ESARIPO, was to achieve a higher degree of cooperation in the area of industrial property; this included efforts to work toward the harmonisation and joint development of national industrial property laws.

[10] The organisation was originally based in Nairobi, Kenya, until it was decided in 1981 to move the headquarters to Harare, Zimbabwe.

[16]) As of 31 December 2019[update], five countries have signed the Arusha Protocol of 6 July 2015 (Gambia, Ghana, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Tanzania).

Together, the two protocols constituting the organisation cover copyright, industrial design, patent, trademark, traditional knowledge and utility model rights.