Challenges in protecting and enforcing Intellectual Property in the African continent

Currently there is no single uniform IP system or laws across the continent. There have been efforts to harmonise IP practices regionally through organisations such as the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI). A number of countries are also signed up to international treaties, systems and agreements which provide for rules on IP rights such as the TRIPS Agreement or the Madrid Protocol allowing countries to be designated as part of a WIPO international trade mark registration.