INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS - ARIPO/Zimbabwe Industrial Designs 

ARIPO designable states for industrial designs

Like ARIPO patents, industrial designs in ARIPO are registered under the Harare Protocol and in relation to the same 18 designable states. However, due to variations in Member States’ laws, whether to designate all or some of the 18 designable states is a matter of strategy and shrewdness. This arises primarily from the fact that although ARIPO examines industrial design applications based on a standard of relative novelty, some ARIPO states such as Kenya and Uganda require such designs to pass specific national requirements before they become registrable in these jurisdictions.

Additionally, enforceability of ARIPO industrial design registrations in designated states is another important consideration. Strategy and shrewdness therefore necessarily inform the wisdom of getting the most expansive and effective industrial design protection possible in each case.