Sao Tome and Principe accedes to the Berne Convention

Joining a number of other African countries, Sao Tome and Principe also seems to be on the road to revamping its Intellectual Property System.

Following its recent accession to the Banjul Protocol by which it joined the ARIPO regional trade mark filing system (which we reported on here), Sao Tome and Principe has now also acceded to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

According to the notification issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) (which can be accessed here), the instrument of accession to this treaty was deposited with WIPO on 14 March 2016 and it will therefore enter into force in respect of Sao Tome and Principe on 14 June 2016. On this date, Sao Tome and Principe will also become a member of the Berne Union mentioned in our previous post regarding the accession of Burundi to the Berne Convention (which can be viewed here).

This accession brings about the extension of the protection of copyright belonging to citizens and residents of all other members of the Berne Convention to Sao Tome and Principe and is a strong step towards bringing this country in line with international standards for the protection of intellectual property.

For more information kindly contact Adre Greeff