Annual Technical Report on Trademark Information Activities in 2023 submitted by African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)

Please provide links to your website where the requested information can be found in English, French, or Spanish.  Alternately, you may provide text responses instead of URLs if desired.  If the information is not available on your website in an ATR language, then please provide text.

URLs in responses should meet the following requirements:

I. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADEMARK INFORMATION ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

Please insert links to specific pages on your website where the above information is posted in English, French, or Spanish.  See other requirements above.  You may also provide text instead of links.

II. SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• ARIPO, with support from WIPO, continued implementing the IP School Club project in Malawi and Zimbabwe targeting school going children 13-18 years to create awareness.

III. SOURCES OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• The ARIPO website is the central digital platform with links to further sources of information - www.aripo.org. 
• The Anderson Ray Zikonda library - http://library.aripo.org/liberty/libraryHome.do?
• The ARIPO Regional IP Database - http://regionalip.aripo.org/wopublish-search/public/home?0.
• The ARIPO Annual Reports - https://www.aripo.org/publications/annual-reports
• The ARIPO Industrial Property Journal - https://eservice.aripo.org/ppb/pjd/PPBJournalViewList.do
• Jointly publish the biannual African Journal of Intellectual Property with Africa University

IV. ICT SUPPORT TO SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES RELATED TO TRADEMARK INFORMATION CARRIED OUT BY THE OFFICE

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Availing of ARIPO data on the TMView platform
• In May 2023, ARIPO launched a new website, becoming our central digital platform - www.aripo.org. 
• ARIPO IP administration systems anchored on the POLite+ system - http://192.168.10.2/mi/ma/dashBoardScreen.do
• Continued to provide convenient IP information services to stakeholders through the 24hr online service platform - http://eservice.aripo.org/pmi/PMIMain.do
• Provided an online user guide to assist users on online filing processes, fees payment, notifications - http://eservice.aripo.org/pif/pue/PIFUserGuideList.do
• Trademark information and filing procedures available on - https://newaripo.online/ip-services/trademarks
• Provision of access to ARIPO IP titles through the Intellectual Property Digital Library (IPDL) - http://regionalip.aripo.org/wopublish-search/public/home
• Workshops to promote the effective use of the ARIPO online service platform were held in Ghana, Namibia and São Tomé and Príncipe - https://www.aripo.org/news/Building+Capacity+in+Online+Service+Utilization-1694597427
• Developed a new cloud-based version of the Member States module to facilitate for online data exchange between the IP administration system of ARIPO Secretariat (POLite+) and IP Administration System (IPAS) being used in the Member States.

V. PROMOTION ACTIVITIES AIMED TO SUPPORT USERS IN ACCESS AND EFFICIENT USE OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Exhibition at the 63^rd Edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) from 25 to 29 April 2023 - https://www.aripo.org/news/ARIPO+Exhibits+at+the+Zimbabwe+International+Trade+Fair-1683890702
• Exhibited at the 113th Edition of the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS) from 28 August - 2 Sept. 2023 -https://www.aripo.org/news/IP+SENSITIZATION+AT+THE+ZIMBABWE+AGRICULTURAL+SHOW-1694619119 
• ARIPO also exhibited at the 2023 AIPPI World Congress from 22 to 25 October 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey - 
• Organized IP awareness seminars for universities and research institutions in São Tomé and Príncipe from 29 August to 1 September 2023 and in Kenya from 31 October - 2 November 2023.
• Held workshops for technical and vocational institutions to promote IP protection and technology transfer in Mozambique from 17 - 19 October 2023 and in Sierra Leone from 13 - 15 November 2023.

VI. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Information on the following topics is desired:

• Availed ARIPO trademark data on the EU's TMView
• In cooperation with WIPO organized the 2nd edition of the Conference of Heads of IP Offices (HIPOC) held in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2023 - https://www.aripo.org/news/2nd+Edition+of+the+ARIPO+Heads+of+IP+Offices+Conference+%28HIPOC%29+Commences+in++Kigali-1686132490.
• Study visit by Heads of IP Offices from the ARIPO Member States to the EUIPO Headquarters in Alicante, Spain, from 12 to 14 December 2023 to strengthen African IP systems and promote an environment conducive to economic development and innovation with a focus on trademarks, GIs and industrial designs organized within the framework of AfrIPI - https://www.aripo.org/news/2nd+Edition+of+the+ARIPO+Heads+of+IP+Offices+Conference+%28HIPOC%29+Commences+in++Kigali-1686132490
• Collaborated with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on a national workshop on IP awareness for the pharmaceutical industry in Zambia under the program called Support to Industrialization and Productive Sector (SIPS).

VII. OTHER RELATED MATTERS

• ARIPO, in collaboration with AfrIPI, organised virtual training sessions for Communicators from the national IP offices and Ministries responsible for IP from Member and Observer States - https://www.aripo.org/news/Advancing+IP+Communications+&+Awareness-1680809465
• ARIPO Academy continued to offer the Masters in IP (MIP) programs in partneship with 3 universities in its Member States; i.e., at Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana; and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
• Relaunched the Training of Trainers project jointly with WIPO to strengthen human resource capacity in IP. It was relaunched and conducted in Harare from 23 to 28 October 2023
• Organized a Judges’ Colloquium on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Africa in Swakopmund, Namibia, in May 2023 in collaboration with AfrIPI, the USDOJ, and Namibia's Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA).