Paris Convention;

ARIPO (Harare Protocol) and

PCT.

Patents of invention; and

Divisional patent

A grace period of 6 months is provided where the invention was exhibited by the inventor or his successor at an officially recognised international exhibition for.

Patent applications are examined as to compliance with formal requirement.

Patents are valid for twenty years from the date of filing the patent application. A grace period of six months is allowed for the late payment of the annual fee, subject to payment of surcharges. Failure to pay the renewal fee causes the patent to lapse.

A patent must be worked within three years for the date of grant or four years from the date of filing, whichever is the later.