Hague, Geneva, Madrid -- and now Ghana

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has announced that Ghana is acceding to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The Geneva Act will enter into force in respect of the Republic of Ghana on 16 September 2008 -- coincidentally the same day that the Geneva Act comes into force for the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI: see earlier Afro-IP post here). This brings to 50 the number of functional jurisdictions within the Hague Agreement, of which 11 are from Africa (click here for full list of Hague members). According to a further notice from WIPO, 16 September is additionally the date on which the Madrid Protocol comes into operation for Ghana.