Patents in Cameroon are regulated by the Bangui Accord which is managed by the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI). Patents are one of the aspects of Intellectual property law protection in Cameroon.
Patents is defined by the Bangui Accord on Intellectual property right which is also applicable in Cameroon to be the title granted for the protection of an invention.
PATENT GRANT REGIME IN CAMEROON
Where the Organization finds that all the conditions for the grant of the patent has been met, and that a search report where applicable has been drawn up, it shall notify the decision and grant the patent applied for. In all cases, the grant of patents shall be at the applicant’s own risk and without any guarantee either as to the reality, novelty or merits of the invention or as to the truth or accuracy of the description.
DEFERMENT OF GRANT OF PATENT IN CAMEROON
The applicant for a patent application may ask for grant to take place one year after the filing date of the application if the said application contains an express request to that effect. A person who has the benefit of this provision may renounce it at any time within the said period of one year.
REJECTION OF PATENT APPLICATION GRANT IN CAMEROON
Any application concerning an invention that is not patentable as per Article 6 or does not conform to the provisions of Article 20 shall be rejected.
A defect in the application shall be notified to the applicant or his agent, who shall be invited to correct the documents within a period of three months from the date of the notification. That period may be extended by 30 days, in cases of justifiable need, at the request of the applicant or his agent. The application so corrected within the said period shall retain the date of the initial application.
In the event of the corrected document not being provided within the prescribed period, the patent application shall be rejected.