By Marius Schneider, ECTA International Trade Committee, IPvocate Africa, Ebene, MauritiusIn a recent decision, the Court of Appeal of Tanzania has held African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) trade marks designating Tanzania to be unenforceable, because Tanzania has not domesticated the Banjul Protocol on Marks. As a reaction to this decision, it is now no longer possible to designate Tanzania in an ARIPO trade mark application. Tanzania is reassuring the IP community that they are pursuing all legal and administrative avenues to expedite the domestication of the Banjul Protocol.Background on the Ruling of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania The Court of Appeal of Tanzania has held, in a judgement delivered on 26 September 2025 in Lakairo Industries Group Co Limited and others v/ Kenafrica Industries Limited and others (Civil appeal no. 593 of 2022), that ARIPO trade marks designating Tanzania are not enforceable, because the country has not domesticated the Banjul Protocol.Kenafrica Industries Limited had initiated a trade mark infringement action against their former distributor Lakairo Industries Group Co Limited, because the latter has after the termination of the distribution agreement started to use several brands of Kenafrica Industries Limited. Kenafrica Industries Limited was successful on the basis of infringement of its trade marks in the first instance but lost in the appeal proceedings.The Court of Appeal of Tanzania held that the ARIPO trade marks of Kenafrica Industries Limited designating Tanzania were unenforceable in Tanzania, because the country did not transpose the Banjul Protocol into national law.The judgement can be criticised for leaving several grey areas (including uncertainty over trade marks on which the infringement action was based) and for not exploring the notion of bad faith agent trade marks (Article 6septies of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property).The Court of Appeal of Tanzania is the highest level in the justice delivery system in Tanzania, and therefore no further appeal is possible.Tanzania is a dualist country: to be valid international treaties must be transformed into national law In International Public Law, a difference is made between monist countries, in which international treaties are directly applicable in the domestic legal system and may even take precedence over conflicting domestic laws, and dualist countries, in which treaties need to be incorporated into local law to be applicable.Tanzania, as many Commonwealth African states, follows the dualist approach, meaning that international law is not automatically part of its domestic legal system and requires separate legislative action to be implemented. Treaties must be transformed into national law, typically through an act of parliament, before they can be applied by domestic courts.The ARIPO Banjul Protocol has not been transformed into national law in Tanzania and as a result the Court of Appeal of Tanzania has held ARIPO trade marks designating Tanzania to be unenforceable.ARIPO informs the users that it is no longer possible to designate Tanzania On 23 October 2025 ARIPO informed the IP community that, further to a decision of the Tanzanian IP Office, it is until further notice no longer possible to designate Tanzania in an ARIPO trade mark application.ARIPO has reassured users that Tanzania is pursuing all legal, administrative, and diplomatic avenues to expedite the domestication of the Banjul Protocol on Marks.Trade mark owners should contemplate the filing of a national trade mark in Tanzania Owners of ARIPO trade marks designating Tanzania with active business interests in the country should contemplate the filing of a national trade mark in Tanzania to exclude any risk for the trade marks to be held unenforceable. It is likely to take some time before Tanzania has domesticated the Banjul Protocol and it is not certain that this domestication is retroactive.About ARIPO The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) is one of the two regional IPR organisations in Africa. As of May 2025, there were 22 member states. However, only member states that are contracting parties to the relevant Protocols can be designated through ARIPO applications. For example, although Somalia and Sudan are members of ARIPO, they are not contracting parties to the Banjul Protocol on Marks, which establishes a common trade mark application filing system and therefore cannot be designated. Only 11 states may currently be designated through an ARIPO trade mark: Botswana, Cape Verde, Eswatini, The Gambia, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. According to a communiqué of ARIPO dated 23 October 2025, Tanzania is until further notice not eligible for designation as a reaction to the decision of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania.

Today, 6 November 2025, marks exactly the 100th anniversary of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, signed in The Hague in 1925, which established the Hague System, also known as the international design system.ECTA joined the official celebrations directly in The Hague, city of peace and justice, represented at yesterday’s gala dinner and today’s symposium by President Carina Gommers and Head of Legal Affairs Anna Ostanina, and member of ECTA Design Committee Philippe Kutschke who is participating as a speaker in the session “Where to Now? Ideas for the Development of the Hague System”.Over the past 100 years, the Hague System has enabled designers to protect their creations in up to 99 countries, with over 2 million design registrations already lodged via the system. Today’s event allowed us to look back and honour the history of the Hague Agreement and its various milestones, maturing into a truly global System, while learning about different countries’ paths when joining the System and those who are its prospective members and vast advantages and virtues of the system. We also had a possibility to discover the experiences and perspective of end users of the System / designers, big and small, their challenges and success stories thanks to The Hague System, its cost saving and procedural efficiency. Equally, today’s event allowed us to imagine the future of the Hague System, we had the opportunity to discuss the considerations when defining protection strategy and the possibilities of making the Hague System more flexible and even more efficient, increasing harmonisation among jurisdictions, regarding substantive law and approach to formalities. ECTA President Carina Gommers said “It is an honour to represent ECTA today at this landmark event celebrating a century of international cooperation in design protection. We sincerely thank WIPO and the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property for bringing us together on this important occasion and I am proud that ECTA’s collaboration with both organisations continues to grow. It is also thanks to the great work of our active Design Committee that ECTA plays its part in advocating for more harmonised and balanced design system and raising awareness about the value of design protection”.

On 23 October 2025, ECTA has filed an amicus curiae brief in the referral by the EUIPO First Board of Appeal to the Grand Board of Appeals in the Cremasco case R 1946/2024-1.The case regards the question of the potentially misleading nature, within the meaning of Article 76(2) EUTMR, of a collective mark application consisting of a figurative sign which reproduces identically the logo contained in the product specification for a geographical indication. The Office’s Guidelines currently refuse such registrations on the grounds that they are deceptive, but the EUTMR does not appear to contain any explicit limitation regarding the collective nature of the entitlement to collective marks for a logo contained in the product specifications and there is little case law on this issue. Furthermore, cumulation of rights was found to be permissible in cases where the signs in question are similar, but the question remains open where the signs in question are identical.Thus, the First Board considered appropriate to refer to the Grand Board of Appeal the question on whether cumulative protection at EU level between a collective mark and a geographical indication is possible in cases where the signs are completely identical.ECTA’s views on the case is that a logo contained in the product specification can be simultaneously registered as a collective mark does not necessarily mislead consumers as to the character or the significance of the mark within the terms of Article 76(2) EUTMR, and the alleged conflict concerning the availability of use of geographical indications and collective marks does not constitute an absolute ground for refusal and is certainly not encompassed within the scope of Article 76(2) EUTMR.We wish to extend our gratitude to the ECTA Amicus Curiae Task Force and the Geographical Indications Committee for their contributions in elaborating this document.

The ECTA October Bulletin is out: READ IT HERE!This edition brings Big News: the ECTA Bulletin opens to advertising! Showcase your firm or company starting from the next issue - and enjoy a 20% discount if you wish to advertise in all three 2026 editions (March, June and October). Contact ecta@ecta.org to secure your spot!This October Bulletin features:Exclusive interviews with Sven Stürmann, President of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal; ECTA Award winners; and leaders of the National Association of Patent Attorneys of Ukraine.The continuation of our Art. 8(4) EUTMR series, this time focusing on Bulgaria, France, Italy, and Spain. By the end of the series, we aim to create a 'guide' offering lawyers an overview of the relevant national regulations.The latest case law reviews and insightful articles covering the 25th Anniversary of the UDRP, IP and SMEs, UK deviations from EU IP law post-Brexit, and the potential of a Pan-African Trade Mark Registration System.Updates from our International Trade, Internet, Harmonization, and Patent Committees, plus insights into the recently launched monthly ECTA UPC Coffee, an exclusive initiative for ECTA members.A refreshed ‘New Members’ section, introducing new ECTA members interviewed during the Annual Conference in Berlin.Thank you to the ECTA Publications Committee for another excellent edition! A print-friendly version is available for members only in the ECTA Library (private site).