On 13 October 2023, the 18th Joint Commission on Industrial Property between OAPI and the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) from France, took place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The discussions, which were led by Directors General, Denis BOHOUSSOU of OAPI and Pascal FAURE of INPI, focused on strengthening the training between the two offices in order to establish a network of French-speaking expertise in innovation and IP rights.
Both OAPI and the INPI highlighted the importance of promoting IP in order to stimulate entrepreneurship and growth of SMEs and SMIs
A cooperation agreement was concluded between the two offices that confirmed both OAPI and INPI’s commitment to the harmonization of IP protection systems for French-speaking IP offices namely OAPI, the INPI of France, the Moroccan Office of Intellectual and Commercial Property, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Africa Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The commission also made projections for 2024, confirming their commitment to the strengthening the ties between the two offices.
