Angola has always regarded intellectual property as an important driving force for the country's social and economic development, and published the relevant statistics for 2020 to 2022 in the latest edition of the country's Intellectual Property Bulletin.

Overall, the country saw an increase in the number of applications for various types of intellectual property protection in 2022, with the number of applications for trademarks and other distinctive signs increasing by 23% compared to the same period in 2021.

In terms of patent applications, the number of applications in 2022 declined slightly compared to 2021, by about 8%. Among them, using the Patent Cooperation Treaty approach to file applications is still the most popular way for applicants.

In terms of industrial design applications, there was a slight decline in the number of applications in 2022 compared to 2021, by about 8%.

Overall, the number of protection applications for trademarks remains high compared to other types of intellectual property. The year 2022 saw the highest number of applications since Angola reviewed and adopted the Industrial Property Law.

Intellectual property statistics for 2020, 2021 and 2022

trademark

In 2022, there was a significant increase in the total number of trademark applications, which increased by 8% to 5,180 compared to 4,224 in 2021.

Similar to the situation in 2021, the number of applications submitted by Angolan applicants in 2022 exceeded the number of applications submitted by applicants from other countries.

In addition, the statistics also show that in terms of non-resident applicants, China surpassed the United States as the country with the highest number of applications filed in Angola between 2020 and 2022, with a total of 816 applications. It was followed by the United States, which filed 756 applications.

Since 2020, the ranking of countries with the highest number of trademark applications filed in Angola has seen a significant change.

In 2020, the countries with the highest number of applications filed in Angola are the United States (5.5%), China (5.1%), South Africa (2.8%), Germany (2.5%) and Japan (2%).

The countries with the highest number of applications submitted in 2021 are China (6.9%), the United States (5.2%), France (3.4%), Portugal (2.6%) and Japan (2.2%).

In 2022, the largest number of trademark applications will be filed in China (6.2 percent), the United States (6.1 percent), South Africa (3 percent), France (2.6 percent) and Germany (2.4 percent).

As this data confirms, China and the United States continue to top the list of applicants filing the largest number of trademark applications. Since 2021, China has surpassed the United States to become the country with the highest number of trademark applications filed in Angola.

In addition, in 2022, the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office completed the authorisation of 5,091 applications, an increase of approximately 53% compared to 2,679 applications in 2021.

On the other hand, the most popular categories of goods and services for applicants during the above time period were: Category 35 involving advertising, business operations, business management and office affairs (18.4%); Category 5 (7.2 per cent) relating to pharmaceuticals and other medicinal and veterinary preparations; Category 41 (5.7%) relating to educational, recreational and cultural activities; Category 30 involving food (5.6%); And Category 3, covering cosmetics and hygiene products (5.3%).

According to the statistics published by the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office, applications involving category 35 (advertising, business operations, business administration, office services) remain the most popular among Angolan applicants.

However, it is important to note that while categories 3 and 30 are still in the top five, they have been replaced by Category 5 (pharmaceuticals and medical products) and Category 41 (education and recreational services), which are in second and third place respectively.

In contrast, categories of goods and services that are less popular with applicants include: Category 23 (0.4%); Category 13 (0.8%); Category 15 (0.8%); Category 27 (0.12 per cent); And category 22 (0.16 per cent).

Obviously, with the increase in the number of trademark applications, in response to this demand, the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office has been working to increase the number of authorized trademark registrations. Specifically, the agency completed the authorization process for 5,091 applications in 2022, which is a significant increase of 53 percent compared to 2,679 applications in 2021.

The increase in the capacity of the Angola Patent and Trademark Office is not only reflected in the number of trademark grants. There was also an increase in the number of trademark renewal and rejection proceedings completed by the Bureau in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020.

In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the number of trademarks renewed at the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office was 1,191, 1,528 and 2,653, respectively. Over the same period, the number of trademarks rejected by the Bureau was 170, 89 and 318, respectively.

Patents and utility models

Compared with trademark applications, the number of patent and utility model applications has shown a very different trend, as the number of applications for this type of intellectual property has declined. Although there was an increase in the number of patent applications filed in Angola in 2021 compared to 2020 (from 82 to 87), this figure slipped back to 80 in 2022.

In terms of utility model applications, the number of applications for this type of intellectual property has been on a downward path since 2020, with 12, 8 and 7 applications in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

In terms of the fields covered by patent applications, in the years covered by the statistics, patent applications filed by applicants were mainly in the fields of construction, chemistry and metallurgy related to the petroleum sector. This is entirely understandable given that Angola is an oil producer in its own right and that the oil industry plays a vital role in the country's economic development process.

On the other hand, as the number of patent applications has declined, the number of patent registrations granted by the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office seems to have naturally declined. Although the number of patent applications granted by the Bureau increased from 33 in 2020 to 49 in 2021, the number dropped to 43 in 2022, a 12 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2021.

Industrial design

Similar to the trend in the number of patent applications, the number of industrial design applications received by the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office has also been decreasing between 2020 and 2022. Specifically, there were only 23 applications of this type in 2022, compared to 25 applications in 2021, a decrease of 8%.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, the number of trademark applications filed in Angola has been increasing, which indicates that applicants from the country and other countries are interested in seeking trademark protection in Angola.

In fact, this data not only shows the growing demand from market participants for trademark registration in Angola, but also confirms that the Angola Patent and Trademark Office is committed to meeting this continuous demand for registration.

The full implementation of this commitment is an important factor in ensuring a sustained increase in the number of trademark registrations in Angola and will have a positive impact on the economic development of Angola. By actively improving registration procedures and efficiently granting trademarks, the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office supports enterprises, promotes investment and strengthens intellectual property protection. All these actions have contributed to the prosperity and development of the Angolan economy.

One of the major challenges facing the Angolan Patent and Trademark Office is to attract as many applicants as possible when registering patent and industrial design applications. Clearly, this requires that the Agency should not only focus on further increasing the number of authorizations requested each year, but also focus on reducing the time required for applicants to complete the entire authorisation process.

These improvements can stimulate the need for people to file applications for this type of intellectual property registration. In other words, by constantly simplifying and speeding up the corresponding process, the Angola Patent and Trademark Office can not only attract more and more applicants, but also stimulate innovation and creativity in various industries.

In addition, the promotion and dissemination of the rights and value of patents and industrial designs to different businesses and inventors has also helped to raise awareness and arouse interest in intellectual property protection in Angola. This protection not only involves inventions related to the oil industry, but also other important areas such as science and technology. (Compiled from www.mondaq.com)