ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa): regional trademark registration

The trademark office and official links

Trademarks in ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa) are registered by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (Harare, Zimbabwe) (ARIPO).

• Trademark office: African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (Harare, Zimbabwe) (ARIPO)
• Trademark search: official trademark database
• Law: Banjul Protocol on Marks and its Implementing Regulations (2026 Edition)

Official fees in ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa)

Official office fees only (schedule as of 2026-03). Official fee schedule. Professional fees of a local firm are extra — compare fixed-fee packages.

How to register a trademark in ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa)

1. Applicants not resident in a Banjul Protocol state appoint a representative residing in a contracting state, with a power of attorney signed by the applicant.
2. File Form M1 with ARIPO (online, in person, by post or courier) or through the office of a contracting state, choosing the designated states and Nice classes and declaring actual or intended use.
3. ARIPO checks formalities and notifies each designated state, which has 6 months to communicate its substantive examination result.
4. Each designated state accepts, accepts conditionally or refuses; a state that does not respond in time is treated as having accepted.
5. The accepted application is published in the ARIPO Journal and third parties may oppose within 3 months of publication.
6. If there is no successful opposition, the registration fee is paid and the mark is registered with effect in each accepting designated state.

Examination, publication and opposition

• Examination: ARIPO checks formalities; substantive examination is done by each designated state's national office, which must communicate its result within 6 months of ARIPO's notification (reduced from 9 months by the 2026 edition of the Protocol). A state that does not respond in time is deemed to have accepted.
• Publication: ARIPO Journal
• Opposition period: 3 months from publication in the ARIPO Journal; no extension is available

Protection, renewal and use

• Term: 10 years from the filing date, renewable.
• Late renewal: 6 months after expiry with a surcharge (20% of the renewal fee)
• Rights system: first to file.

Filing from abroad

• Local agent: An applicant who does not reside or have a principal place of business in a Banjul Protocol contracting state must appoint a representative who resides in a contracting state and is qualified to act there (Banjul Protocol, s. 12(1)).
• Power of attorney: A power of attorney issued and signed by the applicant must be filed within 2 months of filing; if it is still missing one month after an invitation from ARIPO, the application is deemed withdrawn. One power of attorney may cover several applications. No notarisation or legalisation requirement is stated.
• Language: English is the language of proceedings; translations of documents into English are due within 2 months, and marks with non-English words need a translation

Firms on TrademarksHub that cover ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa) can act as your local agent — see firms.

Madrid Protocol

ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa) is not a member of the Madrid System, so an international registration cannot cover it. You need a national filing.

Trademark classes

Nice Classification (45 classes); a multi-class application results in one registration, but a designated state may declare that it treats it as several registrations, and class headings do not bind states on scope of protection. One application can cover several classes. Not sure which classes you need? See all 45 classes or classes by business type.

How ARIPO (Eastern & Southern Africa) compares

• Opposition: 3 months from publication in the ARIPO Journal; no extension is available — compare all countries
• Renewal: every 10 years; grace period 6 months after expiry with a surcharge (20% of the renewal fee) — compare all countries
• Foreign owners: required — rules in every country
• Official search: eservice.aripo.org — all search databases

Guides: registering in any country · costs by country · Madrid

Members and coverage

• The Banjul Protocol on Marks currently has 13 contracting states: Botswana, Cabo Verde, Eswatini, The Gambia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Other ARIPO members, such as Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and Rwanda, are not party to the Banjul Protocol for marks and need national filings.
• An ARIPO registration is a bundle of national rights: it has the same effect in each designated state as a national registration there, and questions such as revocation for non-use are governed by each state's national law.
• ARIPO itself is not a member of the Madrid System, so an ARIPO application cannot be designated through Madrid; Madrid designations must name the individual countries.
• A revised 2026 edition of the Banjul Protocol and new fees took effect on 1 March 2026; it shortened the national examination period to 6 months and recognises exhibition priority and online filing for all applications.
• Online filing reduces the application fee by 20% (USD 160 instead of USD 200).

Questions