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.
Under what Conditions Can a Patent be Considered Invalid in Cameroon?
Patents in Cameroon shall be considered invalid in the following cases;
- If the invention is not new, does not involve an inventive step or is not industrially applicable;
- If the invention is not patentable within the meaning of Article 6 of the law, without prejudice to the penalties that might be incurred for the manufacture or marketing of prohibited articles;
- If the specification attached to the patent does not state in a complete and honest manner the true methods of the inventor.
Certificates in respect of changes, improvements or additions that are not connected with the principal patent shall be declared invalid.
Under what Conditions Can a Patent Application Suffer a Forfeiture in Cameroon?
Any patentee in Cameroon who has not paid his annual fees on the anniversary date of the filing of his patent application shall forfeit all his rights thereto.
The patentee concerned shall however be allowed a six months period of grace within which he may still validly pay the annual fees. In this case, he shall also pay additional fee.
Payments made to complement annual or additional fees during the six-month period mentioned above shall be considered valid.
Payments made as annual or additional fees payable for a patent application resulting either from the conversion of an application for a certificate of addition under Article 28 of the law or from the division of a patent application under Article 24(3) of same law shall also be considered valid provided that the payments are made within a period of six months from the date of the application for conversion or the filing date of the applications resulting from the division.
Restoration of a Patent in Cameroon against Invalidity and Forfeiture
Where a patent has not been renewed owing to circumstances beyond the control of the owner thereof, the owner or entitled persons may apply for its restoration, against payment of the requisite annual fee and of a surcharge the amount of which is fixed by regulation, within a period of six months from the date on which the said circumstances ceased to exist, and at the latest within a period of two years from the date on which renewal was due.