Nearly 30 years after the Somali Intellectual Property Office was closed as a result of the devastating civil war, and thanks to a painstaking but essential process of rebuilding a failed state, the Somali Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has been established in Mogadishu.
During the years of inactivity and lack of protection in intellectual property matters, African experts advised against devoting efforts and financial investment to the protection of trademark rights in this country, as there has been a complete lack of security and guarantees of any kind. In the absence of effective legal options, some stakeholders published precautionary notices in English- and Somali-language newspapers—an informal practice of limited effectiveness in a context as complex as Somalia’s.
Despite the opening of the Registry, some reservations remain regarding the legal foundations and framework of the Somali trademark system. However, African experts are already showing openness to promoting this jurisdiction as another option in the continent’s internationalization processes. It is noted that positive progress is being made, that a certain degree of stability and recognition of the pre-federal constitution is beginning to emerge, and that SIPO has defined objectives. Everything points to the possibility of a new intellectual property law in 2021 (although timelines are uncertain in contexts such as Somalia’s) that could introduce a simple, modern trademark registration system, with English as the official language and an opposition procedure.
Regardless of the above, there are still many challenges and implications in the region that each interested party will have to assess when the time comes.
Author: Cristina Arroyo