Once ignored, geographical indications (GIs) are increasingly ‘objects of desire’ in Africa. GIs are names of products with unique qualities, characteristics, and/or reputation due to their geographical origin. While previously, African countries lacked the will and/or the legislative framework to register GIs, since 2010, year of the first African GI registration under a sui generis system (Argane from Morocco), governments and producer associations have demonstrated an increasing appetite for GIs. One example is the Organization Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI), one of Africa’s two regional IP organizations, which regroups 17 mostly West African Francophone states. Although the OAPI allows for the protection and registration of GIs as appellations of origin since 1977, the first registered GI from the OAPI region, Penja Pepper (Cameroon), was registered only in 2013. As of February 2024, 10 GIs from the region have been registered at the OAPI, with Penja Pepper also registered in the European Union. The increase in the number of GIs at the OAPI reflects a growing trend on the continent, with around 190 African GIs currently. The majority of these are raw agricultural products, such as Lentil of Zaer (Morocco), Purple Onion of Galmi (Niger-OAPI), and Dried Fig of Béni Maouche (Algeria). States are also adopting legislation relevant to GIs: 37 African countries have a sui generis GI registration system, and in numerous states, such as Zambia, the relevant legislation is imminent.
Series
Intellectual Property Law & Practice ; 19, 10, 2024, 1747-1540.