Industrial Property Rights in Ethiopia

Authors

Peter Winship, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of LawFollow

Abstract

Although the Commercial Code of 1960 contemplates the promulgation of a special law governing industrial property rights, the Imperial Ethiopian Government has neither promulgated this law nor, with the exception of a draft trademark law, prepared the appropriate draft legislation. The lack of a comprehensive law has not been disastrous: until recently the number of trademarks and industrial inventions used or created in Ethiopia was very small. A number, of different legal theories, moreover, have been or could be used to protect some persons' trade marks or industrial inventions. 2 However, with the growing number of court cases related to industrial property disputes and of applications for registration in the trade mark and patent registers maintained by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Government must soon examine the need for detailed industrial property legislation. This brief Note argues that although it is possible for some groups to protect their industrial creations the confusion in the present legal situation requires some legislative clarification and the most efficient way to proceed is to prepare and promulgate the comprehensive law contemplated twelve years ago by the Commercial Code.

Publication Title

Journal of Ethiopian Law

Document Type

Article

Keywords

ethiopian property rights

Recommended Citation

Peter Winship, Industrial Property Rights in Ethiopia, 9 J. Ethiopian L. 357 (1973)