Ethiopia
Classification
The International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification) is applied.
An application may cover any number of goods and/or services and any number of classes, but may cover only one trade mark.
Convention priority
Although Ethiopia is not a member of the Paris Convention, the Proclamation expressly provides for priority to be claimed, provided the application in Ethiopia is filed within six months from the date of the first-filed foreign application.
Examination
The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) examines the application as to form and substance. If the application is found to be acceptable, a notice inviting opposition is published in two newspapers in English and Amharic.
If no opposition is lodged (see the section on Opposition below), a registration certificate is issued.
Opposition
Opposition may be lodged within 60 days of publication. The EIPO is empowered to grant an extension of up to 60 days, from the expiry of the initial opposition period.
Duration and renewal
The period of protection is seven years from the date of submission of the application for registration. The registration may then be renewed for consecutive periods of seven years, subject to the payment of renewal fees.
Subject matter eligible for protection
The following works are eligible for copyright protection:
- Books, booklets, articles in reviews and newspaper, computer programs
- Speeches, lectures, addresses, sermons and other oral works
- Dramatic, dramatico-musical works, pantomimes, choreographic works, and other works created for stage production
- Musical compositions; audiovisual works
- Works of architecture
- Works of drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, lithography, tapestry, and other works of fine arts
- Photographic works
- Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works related to geography, topography, architecture or science.
Registration of copyright
Works eligible for copyright are protected automatically; there is no registration requirement.
Duration of copyright
The term of copyright is different for the various categories of works, as shown below:
- The copyright in respect of a broadcast work will expire twenty years after the year in which the broadcast took place
- The copyright in respect of a sound recording will expire fifty years after the year of publication. Where the sound recording has not been published, it will expire fifty years after fixation.

Ethiopia's Accession to the Paris Convention
On 1 October 2024 the Ethiopian Council of Ministers approved Ethiopia’s ratification of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Madrid Protocol. The ratification ...
October 15 2024

NEWS FLASH: Intellectual Property Ethiopia takes steps to join the Paris Convention and the Madrid Protocol
On 1 October 2024, Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers approved Ethiopia’s accession to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Madrid Protocol for the International Reg...
October 07 2024

ETHIOPIA – Country Visit
Adams & Adams Partner, Stephen Hollis, and Africa Practice Manager, Menzi Maboyi, travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 23 – 26 June 2024 to visit our Associate Office and the Ethiopian Intel...
July 16 2024
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