Ghana

Information received from our hardworking local office in Ghana indicates that the ongoing strike by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has caused the Industrial Property Office (IPO) and the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) to close from 3 July 2024 until further notice. We understand that payment issues are the reason […]

From 13 May 2024, the Registrar General in Ghana will use and accept the terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass. The incorporation of the Ghanian Registry in TMclass takes the total number of participating national and regional IP offices, which includes ARIPO, OAPI, WIPO and the EUIPO, to 93. […]

The recent judgement in the case Nutrifoods Ghana Ltd. v Twellium Industries Ltd highlights the significance of pleading sufficient evidence in establishing claims of unlawful competition in Ghana Unlawful competition finding: Nutrifoods Ghana Ltd. v Twellium Industries Ltd On 18 December 2023 the Ghana High Court delivered judgement in respect of the unlawful competition case […]

The Ministry of Justice and Attorney general’s Department in Ghana, in collaboration with ARIPO and the Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Africa (AfrIPI), hosted a 3-day workshop to promote intellectually property rights and innovation in ARIPO member states. AfrIPI is an international cooperation project funded and directed by the European Union, co-funded and implemented by […]

New legislation has been proposed to establish a new Industrial Property Office in Ghana.  The Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023 (“the Bill”) is currently pending before Parliament and has a way to go in the parliamentary process before the Bill can be assented to by the President. In essence, the Bill proposes to establish […]

The Narcotics Control Commission Amendment Bill, 2023 (“the Amendment Bill”) was, on 12 July 2023, passed into law in Ghana.  The passing of the Narcotics Bill is a significant event as authorises the Minister of Interior to issue licenses permitting, in Ghana, the cultivation of cannabis, as well as the exploration of the properties of […]

New legislation has been proposed in Ghana, the purpose of which is to establish a new Industrial Property Office in Ghana.  The Ghana Industrial Property Office Bill, 2023 (“the Bill”) is currently pending before Parliament and has a way to go in the parliamentary process before the Bill can be assented to by the President. […]

The rate of value-added tax in Ghana has increased to 15% effective 29 December 2022. VAT increase On 29 December 2022, the Value Added Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2022 (“the VAT Amendment Act”) was assented to by the President of Ghana. In terms of Section 3(1) of the VAT Amendment Act, the rate of […]

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched an Intellectual Property (IP) policy to safeguard and promote the development and distribution of new technologies and services in Ghana. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Ghana Intellectual Property Organization (GHIPO) collaborated on the policy document, which went through several stages of development. […]

President Akufo-Addo recently launched the new Ghanaian Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORCs). The ORC is responsible for company and business registration and also provides advisory services. The function of the ORCs will include making provision for information to be entered into the company’s register, verifying information provided by companies to the registrar and […]

The National Biosafety Authority approved the genetically modified cowpea, also known as the black eyed pea, in Ghana. This is the first of the three regulatory approvals that must be obtained before the GM cowpea can be commercialised in Ghana. The next two regulatory hurdles, which can be overcome simultaneously, are the approvals to obtained […]

All services at the Industrial Property Office (IPO) and the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) are suspended due to Strike Action. Some of these services include the making of payments, filing of applications, prosecuting matters and following up at the RGD and the IPO for all intellectual property matters.  We are informed that the reason behind the strike concerns […]

We are pleased to report that the industrial strike action undertaken by the Registrar General’s Department and Industrial Property Office on 20 January 2022 has been called off and the Registry is back to full operational capacity

In Ghana, the Registrar General’s Department and the Industrial Property Office have embarked on indefinite industrial strike action which commenced on 20 January 2022. These offices are closed, and all processes are halted until further notice. Due to the strike, no documents can be filed and there can be no following up on any pending […]