National Office of Industrial Property (ANPI)

The national office of industrial property is the national liaison structure with the African Intellectual Property Organization; it ensures relations between the State and the World Intellectual Property Organization and any other international body responsible for intellectual property.

CONTACT:

MISSIONS

The national office of industrial property is the technical body supporting economic development and management of industrial property.

In this capacity it has the responsibility to:

• Implement and enforce the national policy on industrial property;
• Ensure the application of common administrative procedures relating to the uniform industrial property protection regime resulting from the provisions of the Bangui Agreement and its annexes;
• Draft legislative texts for the ratification of bilateral and multilateral industrial property agreements, conventions and treaties and ensure their implementation;
• Centralize, coordinate and disseminate information relating to the protection of industrial property, including technical information contained in patent documents;
• Sensitize actors of the national economy on the interest and importance of the protection of industrial property;
• Promote the use of the industrial property system to foster creativity and technology transfer;
• Create favourable conditions for exploiting results of applied research and exploiting technological innovations;
• Promote international cooperation on industrial property.

ORGANIZATION

The national industrial property office project is under the authority of the Minister of Industrial Development, responsible for the promotion of the national private sector. It is directed and animated by a director. The director coordinates, directs and controls the activities of the national office of industrial property.

SERVICES

The national industrial property office project, in addition to the secretariat, comprises:

The Secretariat:

The secretariat is headed and run by a chief executive who has the rank of bureau chief. He is responsible for all secretarial work, including:

• Receiving and forwarding mail;
• Summary analysis of correspondence and other documents;
• Typing and reproduction of correspondence and other documents;
• And, in general, any other task to which he may be assigned.

The legal service:

The legal service is headed and run by a service head. It specifically has the responsibility to:

• Design and propose draft laws and regulations on industrial priority and ensure their application;
• Examine the admissibility of applications for industrial property titles for transmission to the African Intellectual Property Organization;
• Maintain registers of applications for industrial property titles and compile statistics;
• Assist applicants in the preparation of their files and in the drafting of contracts and licenses;
• Design and propose regulations on the fight against unfair competition and counterfeiting;
• Collect information related to industrial property litigation
• Run the Regulatory Office;
• Run the Patent and Signs Office.

The patent documentation and information service:

The documentation and information service is run by a service head. It is responsibility to:

• Organize and manage the documentary collection;
• Collect, process and disseminate technical information contained in patent documents and other documents;
• Manage the computerized search tool;
• Carry out documentary research in the field of industrial property;
• Establish state-of-the-art reports;
• Assist applicants in the constitution of applications for industrial property titles;
• Prepare and publish newsletters and other information material on industrial property.

The documentation and information service includes:

• The documentation bureau;
• The Research and Dissemination Bureau.

The service for the promotion of industrial property:

The service for the promotion of industrial property is run by a service head. It is specifically has the responsibility to:

• Organize conferences and seminars on industrial property;
• Sensitize decision makers and users on the importance of industrial property protection;
• Prepare fairs, competitions and exhibitions of invention and technology innovation;
• Promote the use of the industrial property system;
• Create an enabling environment for the extension of industrial property;
• Encourage companies to protect their industrial property rights.

The service for the promotion of industrial property comprises:

• Public Relations Bureau;
• The promotion Bureau.

The service of the valorisation of inventions:

The service of the valorisation of inventions is run by a service head and has the responsibility to:

• Investigate files related to requests for assistance in the valorisation of inventions;
• Identify inventions and technological innovations that can be promoted;
• Select and popularize any technological information and any invention related to priority sectors of the national economy;
• Assist promoters in the valorisation of inventions and innovations relevant to their fields of activity
• Implement the various funds for assistance to invention and technological innovation
• Promote the exploitation of inventions and technological innovations in priority areas of the national economy

The service for the valorisation of inventions includes:

• The assistance bureau;
• The studies bureau.

The administrative and financial service:

The administrative and financial service is run by a service head and has the responsibility to:

• Manage the administration, human resources and the project’s heritage;
• Prepare and execute the budget;
• Ensure training and retraining of staff.

The administrative and financial service comprises:

• The administration and human resources bureau;
• The finance and materiel bureau;
• The accounting bureau.

Financial and accounting provisions:

Resources of the project called national office of industrial property come from:

• State subsidies;
• Endowments from international organizations;
• The fund for assistance for invention and technological innovation;
• Provision of services to users.

 The national office of industrial property is subject to the rules of public accounting. And for endowments from international organizers, they are subject to the control of these organizations.