Country Visits

The 49th Session of the Administrative Council of ARIPO was held in Accra, Ghana from 17 – 20 November 2025. Adams & Adams Partners Nthabi Phaswana and Jameel Hamid, together with the Africa Practice Manager, Menzi Maboyi attended the session.

Adams & Adams works closely with ARIPO, and we continue to support ARIPO in its initiatives to promote and improve the ARIPO system. Representatives from all 22 ARIPO member states attended this year’s event which also saw the attendance of representatives from Burundi and Angola as observer states and various partner organisations including UPOV, EUIPO and OAPI. The delegates were welcomed by the Director General of ARIPO, Mr Bemanya Twebaze and the Registrar General of Ghana, Mrs Grace Issahaque. The Guest of Honour was the Ghanaian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic A. Ayine.

The event provides a unique opportunity to meet and engage with IP officials from the ARIPO member states and to cement our relationships with and participate in the activities of ARIPO.

Our second trip in Q4 of 2025 was from 12 – 18 November 2025 when, Adams & Adams Partner, Jameel Hamid, and Africa Practice Manager, Menzi Maboyi, travelled to Accra, Ghana, to visit the Ghana Industrial Property Office (GHIPO), under the auspices of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) and our Associate Office. The objective of our trip was to meet the Registrar General (RG), Mrs Grace Issahaque, to discuss various aspects of IP practice in Ghana.

Our team was warmly welcomed by the RG and staff. We commended the RG on the improved service at GHIPO. We were able to raise our pressing concern on the current Registry directive in respect of the issuance of Powers of Attorney (POA) directly from a proprietor appointing a local IP practitioner

On 15 October 2025, Adams & Adams Partner, Amina Suliman, and Africa Practice Manager, Menzi Maboyi, travelled to eSwatini to engage with the Registrar of the IP Office, Dr Celucolo Dluldlu. We were warmly welcomed by the Registrar and were able to hold discussions on a number of topics relating to IP practice in Eswatini. We were also able to have meaningful engagements on a number of aspects relating to capacity and operational constraints. This included digitisation of the register, Madrid applications, processing times and search results. We were also able to discuss and escalate pending matters to the Registry, for attention.

In April 2025, Adams & Adams Partner, Simon Brown, Snr Trade Mark Administrator, Frank Mosekwa, and Africa Practice Manager, Menzi Maboyi, travelled to Windhoek to visit our Associate Office, and the Acting Business and Intellectual Property Agency (BIPA), CEO, Ms Ainna Vilengi Kaundu.