“High Commission of Appeal” means the High Commission of Appeal of the
Organization;
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Administrative Council of the Organization;
“Director General” means the Director General of the Organization;
“Member States” means the States members of the Organization;
“Paris Convention” means the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property, concluded at Paris on March 20, 1883, as subsequently amended;
“Patent Cooperation Treaty” means the Treaty done at Washington on June 19, 1970, as
subsequently amended;
“National administration” means the Ministry of each Member State that is in charge of
industrial property matters;
“Berne Convention” means the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
Artistic Works, concluded at Berne on September 9, 1886, as subsequently amended;
“Rome Convention” means the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers,
Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, done at Rome in 1961.
TITLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section I
Fundamental Principles
Article 2
Creation and Responsibilities
(1) The African Intellectual Property Organization created by the Bangui Agreement of
March 2, 1977, is responsible for
(a) implementing and applying the common administrative procedures deriving from a
uniform system for the protection of industrial property, as well as the provisions of
international agreements in this field to which the member States of the Organization have
acceded, and providing services related to industrial property;
(b) contributing to the promotion of the protection of literary and artistic property as an
expression of cultural and social values;
(c) encouraging the creation of associations of national authors in those member States
where such bodies do not exist;
(d) centralizing, coordinating and disseminating information of all kinds relating to the
protection of literary and artistic property and communicating that information to any State
party to this Agreement that requests it;
(e) promoting the economic development of member States, notably by means of
effective protection of intellectual property and related rights;
(f) providing intellectual property training;
(g) undertaking any other assignment connected with its objective that might be
entrusted to it by the member States.