Registering a Trademark in French-speaking Africa: One OAPI Application Covers 17 Countries

Protecting a brand in Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer) works differently from most countries. You do not apply country by country; instead, a single application to the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) gives you protection in all 17 member states at once. For Asian brands looking to expand into French-speaking Africa, it is a very cost-effective system — but it also means that if someone registers your mark first, the impact likewise extends to 17 countries.

What OAPI is

OAPI (Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle) was established under the Bangui Agreement (Accord de Bangui), signed on 2 March 1977, and is headquartered in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. The Agreement was revised in 1999 and 2015, and the latest version entered into force on 14 November 2020.

The 17 member states are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad and Togo.

According to February 2025 information from France's industrial property office, INPI, a single application to OAPI secures protection in all 17 countries; the revised Agreement also allows goods and services classes to be covered in the same application.

Filing channels and key procedural points

• Where to file: directly at the Yaoundé headquarters, by post (the date of receipt counts as the filing date), or via the "national liaison structure" in each member state. In Côte d'Ivoire this role is played by the Ivorian Intellectual Property Office (OIPI); under a 2015 decree, OIPI receives applications, checks them and forwards them to OAPI, and helps combat counterfeiting.
• Agent: applicants not resident in one of the 17 member states must appoint an OAPI-approved agent (mandataire agréé).
• Opposition period: third parties may file an opposition within 3 months of the application's publication.
• Term: 10 years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely. INPI data show a renewal fee of XOF 500,000, plus XOF 100,000 for each additional class; check other official fees and agent fees with your agent.

Link with the Madrid System

OAPI joined the Madrid System for the international registration of marks on 5 December 2014, with effect from 5 March 2015. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) notes that this allows brand owners to seek protection in more than 100 countries through a single international application. If your company already holds trademarks in other Madrid member countries, you can assess with your agent whether it is better to designate OAPI through an international application or to file directly with OAPI.

One line for Asian companies

If you plan to enter French-speaking West or Central Africa, have an OAPI-approved agent search and file for your brand before your first shipment. One application protects you in 17 countries — usually far less trouble than dealing with a squatted trademark after the fact.

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References: INPI – Fiche OAPI (2025); Direction générale du Trésor – La propriété intellectuelle dans l'espace OAPI (2022); WIPO – OAPI Joins the Madrid System (2014); Wikipedia – Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle; CIVLII – Décret n° 2015-241 relatif à l'OIPI