Africa: legal resources for sub-Saharan jurisdictions: Regional blocs

"The history of ARIPO goes back to the early seventies when a Regional Seminar on patents and copyright for English – speaking African countries was held in Nairobi. That seminar recommended that a regional industrial property organization be set up. In 1973 the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) responded to a request by these English-speaking countries for assistance in pooling their resources together in industrial property matters by establishing a regional organization.

Following a number of meetings at ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa and WIPO in Geneva, a draft Agreement on the Creation of the Industrial Property Organization for English-speaking Africa (ESARIPO) was prepared. This agreement, now known as the Lusaka Agreement, was adopted by a Diplomatic Conference held in Lusaka, Zambia on December 9, 1976."

The Trade Law Centre NPC (tralac) is an independent, capacity building think tank. Established in 2001, tralac is a non-profit organization, registered in South Africa. tralac builds trade-related capacity in Africa; assisting countries to improve trade governance and inclusive policy processes to ensure that trade contributes to sustainable development outcomes.