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 Legal procedure to obtain the patent or registration certificate

Legal procedure to obtain the patent or registration certificate

Obtaining a patent or registration certificate, as the case may be, is carried out by following a procedure consisting of the following steps:

  1. The applicant (applicant or agent) goes to the Industrial Property Department (DPI) to obtain:
  • A debit note giving rise to the establishment

a collection note established by the General Directorate of Administrative, Judicial, State and Participations Revenue (DGRAD)

  • Application forms
  1. With this collection note, the applicant pays the deposit fee with a DGRAD-approved bank (BIAC, TMB, RAWBANK, BCDC, Equity, FBN Bank, etc.); the latter provides him with proof of payment of the said tax (the payment certificate and payment slip)
  2. Based on this evidence, the applicant pays the surcharge (i.e. 10% of the tax) to the public accountant, on behalf of the FPID (Promotion Fund for Inventions and Discoveries)
  3. The applicant can then compile his physical patent application file or registration certificate which includes:
  • A letter of request addressed to the Secretary General for Industry
  • Three application forms issued by the Direction de la Propriété Industrielle (DPI)
  • Proof of payment of the tax and surcharge,
  • A description of the invention in triplicate (only for the invention patent)
  • A descriptive legend (only for the industrial design)
  • The industrial model or industrial design in question (only for industrial design)
  1. The applicants submit this file to the Secretariat of the Secretary General where the file obtains the anteriority references including: The date, hour and minute of filing
  2. The Secretary General sends the file to the DPI
  3. The DPI gives a provisional number (NP) to the file and prepares a filing report as acknowledgment of receipt of the file
  4. The Secretary General notifies the applicant by a letter proposed to him by the DPI
  5. The applicant countersigns the report, a copy of which is attached to the physical file.
  6. The DPI then proceeds to search for anteriority by consulting the register.
  7. If there is anteriority the file is rejected
  8. If there is no prior art, the DPI assigns a definitive number (ND) to the file and prepares the patent.
  9. The Secretary General submits the patent or certificate for the signature of the Minister of Industry with regard to the ad hoc physical file.
  10. The Minister of Industry signs the patent or registration certificate and his Chief of Staff sends it back to the Secretary General, along with the physical file
  11. The DPI prepares a notification that the Secretary General signs for the withdrawal of the patent or the certificate of registration by the applicant with the DPI,
  12. The Secretary General sends a copy of the patent or the registration certificate to the Official Journal for publication and opposability to all.
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