Practical Guide

Legal procedure to obtain the patent or registration certificate

Those who are in the province or outside the country have three options:

  1. Submit the file to the provincial industry division which forwards it to the general secretariat for industry subject to payment of the surcharge to be paid in Kinshasa
  2. Go through a third person residing in Kinshasa who can take the steps at the General Secretariat for Industry
  3. Go through an authorized industrial property agent

The Industrial Property Department may recommend an authorized representative to the applicant.

most authorized agents in the Democratic Republic of Congo are lawyers registered with one of the country's bars.

Rate

  • Natural person patent filing: 120 USD
  • Legal entity patent filing: 300 USD
  • Filing trademark registration certificate and advertising slogan: 150 USD
  • Filing business name registration certificate: 250 USD
  • Filing certificate of registration of the industrial design and/or model: 80 USD

NB: With each deposit a surcharge equivalent to 10% of the tax is payable

Address and contact of the General Secretariat for Industry:

Boulevard du 30 juin, place le royal, Likasi building, wing 1,
6th level, Commune of Gombe, Kinshasa-DRC

Contact: +243 815205092
Email: wangwambasaturnin@gmail.com

Obtaining an industrial property title in the DRC

Intellectual property is the set of exclusive rights granted over intellectual creations to the inventor or the beneficiary and gives rise to four forms of protection: the patent of invention, the certificate of protection of trademarks, designs and industrial models, protection of distinctive signs, commercial and geographical names as well as the protection of signs and slogans.

According to law n°82-001 of January 07, 1982 governing industrial property in the DRC, the patent confers on its holder an exclusive right of temporary exploitation.

Three types of patents are covered by this Law:

  • Invention patent : it mainly covers an invention which, on the filing or priority date of the related application, has not yet been patented. The priority of the application designates the right available to the holder of a patent, granted abroad, to invoke the benefit of the latter in the DRC within a period of one year and, within this period of time, no applicant cannot take advantage of it.
  • Import patent : refers to an invention already covered by a patent in a foreign country and whose holder, or an authorized third party, imports into the DRC to benefit from the related privileges.
  • Improvement patent : when modifications are made to the initial invention. It is the one that relates to any improvement of an invention already patented.

Obtaining the patent and certificate guarantees creativity and gives full enjoyment of man-made works for a certain period.

The DRC is both a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization-WIPO and the World Trade Organization but is not part of the African Intellectual Property Organization-OAPI.

Only the Industrial Property Department of the Secretariat at the Ministry of Industry receives applications, examines and issues the Authorization of Industrial Property Agent.

The patent of invention is granted when the applicant protects his invention which is different from the registration certificate which is granted when the applicant protects industrial designs and models, distinctive signs, trade and geographical names as well as signs and the slogan.

Once your properties are protected, the plaintiff is entitled to take legal action in case of use by a third party without prior authorization.

It should be noted that the certificate of conformity granted by the Congolese Control Office (OCC) is not to be confused with the patent or the registration certificate granted by the industrial property department of the Ministry of Industry.
angle-left Lifetime of a patent and certificate / Penalties provided by law

Lifetime of a patent and certificate / Penalties provided by law

Lifetime of a patent and certificate

The patent is granted for a period of 20 years while the certificate for a period of 10 years. For its maintenance in force, the holder of the patent pays an annual fee from the third annuity. Non-payment of this annual fee does not enhance the patent.

After this period and in the event of non-renewal of life, the patent and/or the certificate falls into the public domain. That means anyone can use it.

If the conditions of exploitation of the patents are not respected, and in the event of failure to pay the annual fees, the industrial property rights may be withdrawn from their holder. The most common offenses recorded in the DRC in terms of industrial property rights are: counterfeiting, falsification of trademarks, and offenses related to the indication of source. They relate to various products including, among others, textiles, cosmetics, foodstuffs and medicines.

Penalties provided by law:

Several sanctions are provided for by the legislation governing industrial property in the DRC:

  • The offense of counterfeiting is punishable by a penalty of penal servitude of one to six months and/or a fine the amount of which is set at 25% of the annual gross turnover resulting from the exploitation of the invention. .
  • The repeat infringer is punished with double the maximum penalties.
  • Unduly relying on an application for a patent or registration certificate, or unduly relying on a patent, registration certificate or operating licence, constitutes an offense punishable by a prison sentence of three months to one year and/or a fine set at a minimum of twice the amount of the tax.
  • The violation of a prohibition related to the secrecy of an invention or discovery is considered a crime and punishable by a fine set at 60% of the annual gross turnover resulting from the fraudulent exploitation.
  • The use of an invention declared secret, without authorization, exposes the interested party to the payment of compensation amounting to a minimum of twice and a maximum of four times the amount of the filing fee.
  • There are also coercive or authoritarian measures which consist of seizing or destroying counterfeit objects.
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