Guinea Trademark Information

Guinea, is a country in West Africa, with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The population is estimated at 10,057,000 with a GDP of $10.51 billion.

Guinea has had a history of authoritarian rule since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984 when the military seized the government after the death of the first president, Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003, though all the polls were marred by irregularities. History repeated itself in December 2008 when following President CONTE's death, Capt. Moussa Dadis CAMARA led a military coup, seizing power and suspending the constitution. His unwillingness to yield to domestic and international pressure to step down led to heightened political tensions that culminated in September 2009 when presidential guards opened fire on an opposition rally killing more than 150 people, and in early December 2009 when CAMARA was wounded in an assassination attempt and evacuated to Morocco and subsequently to Burkina Faso. A transitional government has been installed.

Trademarks are assigned through the National Service of Industrial Property, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises. Guinea is not a 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.