Quick info guide

Requirements for patent application

☑ a notarized document containing a description of the invention
☑ an abstract and where necessary drawings (the document has to be translated into English)
☑ a notarized and authenticated power of attorney to the patent agent or patent attorney in Ethiopia
☑ the completed patent application forms and;
☑ Payment of the prescribed fee


Contact information

Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office
Kasanchis - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
P.O.Box 25322/1000
Tel: +251 11 552 8000
Fax: +251 11 552 9299
Email: info@eipo.gov.et
Website: http://www.eipo.gov.et

How to acquire a patent in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office is entrusted with the powers of registration and protection of Intellectual property rights, including patents. It is advisable for women entrepreneurs with new ideas of a product or service to patent these ideas in order to safeguard their innovation/invention.

angle-left Which inventions can be patented?

Which inventions can be patented?

What is a patent?

A patent is a legal form of protection that provides a person or legal entity with exclusive rights to exclude others from making, using, or selling a concept or invention for the duration of the patent. This exclusive right is granted by the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application.

What is a patentable invention?

According to proclamation No. 123/1995, a patent is an invention that is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable, then it will be patentable. To be patentable it has to fulfill the following:

  1. Novelty: not anticipated by prior art. Prior art consist everything disclosed to the public, anywhere in the world by publication legible form or by oral disclosure, by use or in any other way.
  2. Inventive Step: Compared to the prior art if the invention is not obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art.
  3. Industrial Applicability: an invention shall be considered as industrially applicable where it can be made or used in handicraft, agriculture, fishery, social services and any other sectors.

Types of Patents

  1. Utility patents: Granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;
  2. Design patents: Granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and
  3. Plant patents: Granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.