OAPI Adopts 11th Edition

The Trademark Office of the African Intellectual Property Organization, commonly referred to as OAPI, recently announced that it is adopting the 11th edition of the Nice classification. OAPI is composed of 17 French speaking African states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoro Islands, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. OAPI’s headquarters are located in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon.

By way of background, the amendments in the 11th edition cover 15 class headings and explanatory notes for seven classes. Furthermore, the list of goods and services was extended by 334 terms. Major revisions in the 11th edition include:

• Class headings affected by current revisions are those numbered 3, 6, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 31 and 45
• All serving utensils are grouped under class 21 instead of class 8
• The addition of unlocking of mobile phones under class 42
• The addition of dog walking, kimono dressing assistance, and conducting religious ceremonies under class 45
• The addition of eyelash brushes and foam toe separators for use in pedicures under class 21
• The addition of herbal extracts for cosmetic purposes under class 3
• The addition of herbal extracts and physiotherapy preparations for medical purposes under class 5
• The addition of body composition monitors under class 10
• The addition of several new goods under classes 29 and 30, including guacamole, onion rings, falafel, bibimbap, dulce de leche, almond, peanut and coconut milks, as well as nut- and chocolate-based spreads. Escamoles (prepared edible ant larvae) and edible insects have also been added under classes 29 and 31.