Overview of industrial property practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo
MERIDOR was represented by its C.E.O., Méridor Kongota Ndelo, who highlighted the difficulties faced by holders of industrial property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, etc.) during the discussions on the current state of industrial property practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo, initiated by the current Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry. To alleviate these problems, Méridor Kongota Ndelo proposed to the DRC government the creation of the Office Congolais de la Propriété Industrielle (OCPI), following the example of the INPI in France, to combat the decried contra legem practices that prevent the expansion and expression of creativity in Congo-Kinshasa, which is the core of the development of contemporary civilisations.
The OCPI will be a personalised public service with legal personality and its own material, financial and human resources, such as the mining cadastre. This will relieve the pressure on the General Secretariat for Industry and will also enable the provision of high-quality public services to holders of industrial property rights.
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