Although the Zimbabwean Registry has welcomed the fact that its Industrial Property Automated System (IPAS) is up and running again, the Registry’s operations were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as ZIPO is now running on a limited staff complement.
The Controller of Patents, Trade Marks & Industrial Designs has however assured practitioners that the remaining staff are hard at work trying to manage the backlog and that they hope to receive some extra hands to relieve the pressure in the coming days. ZIPO further confirmed that filing receipts will be issued in order of the date of filing and that priority dates on timeously filed applications will be acknowledged. It is anticipated that most filing receipts (in order of the date of filing) will be made available on 24 May 2021 and the next Journal is expected to be published at the latest in June 2021.
