Which ARIPO member States to designate for an ARIPO Patent
When filing an ARIPO patent, many applicants automatically designate the maximum number of States. This is not the best option.
| ARIPO Patent Information | |
|---|---|
| PCT national phase deadline | 31 months |
| Language | English |
| Examination | No |
| Time to issue certificate (est.) | 32 months |
| Amendments after grant | Yes (narrowing) |
| Pre-payment of renewals (20yrs) | No |
The GDP and population range of ARIPO Patent member States is extremely wide. and selecting some of the smaller States adds significant cost without contributing materially to GDP or population coverage:
The top 7 ARIPO member States (Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Zambia) cover 82% of the total GDP and 76 of the total population of all ARIPO member States.
Since, each designated State increases the ARIPO patent filing and renewal costs equally, designating all ARIPO member States instead of only the top 7 member States, doubles the lifetime cost of an ARIPO patent:
The best options for securing patent coverage in Africa remains SANi, ARIPO (7 States) and OAPI.