Central African Trademark Information

The Central African Republic is located in Central Africa and borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The population is estimated at 4,422,000 with a GDP of $3.30 billion.

The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. Unrest in the neighboring nations of Chad, Sudan, and the DRC continues to affect stability in the Central African Republic as well.

Trademarks are assigned through National Industrial Property Service, Directorate of Industrial Development and Handicraft under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, SME-SMI. The Central African Republic is a not member of the Madrid Protocol and is a member of OAPI. A trademark is valid for 10 years and may be renewed for further periods of 10 years each.