Chad Trademark Information

Chad, officially known as the Republic of Chad, is located in Central Africa and is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. The population is estimated at 10,329,000 with a GDP of $16 billion.

Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which has sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005, new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and made probing attacks into eastern Chad despite signing peace agreements in December 2006 and October 2007. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits and won another controversial election in 2006. Sporadic rebel campaigns continued throughout 2006 and 2007. The capital experienced a significant rebel threat in early 2008.

Trademarks are assigned through the Directorate General under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Chad 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.