MOZAMBIQUE: ARIPO Member Registers First GI

Mozambique launched its first geographical indication (GI) on November 23, 2020, marking the first GI registered by a member state of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO).

According to the Pan-African Geographical Indications Information Hub, Cabrito de Tete represents a local goat breed from the Tete region of Mozambique, which boasts about 300,000 goats and is a leading goat producer in the country. Under the GI registration, strict standards will apply to the breeding and processing of Cabrito de Tete while preserving the reputation and protecting the producers of the local goat meat.

GIs are used to identify products for which quality, reputation, or other characteristics are related to their geographical origin.

At a ceremony organized by the Institute of Industrial Property of Mozambique on November 23, Mozambique’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Carlos Mesquita, stated, “The launch of the commercial test of the Cabrito de Tete represents an indelible milestone in the history of industrial property in Mozambique. It marks the beginning of the effective use of the geographical indications system in Mozambique as a strategic tool for adding value to typical national products.”

The European Union Ambassador to Mozambique, Antonio Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar, who also attended the event, noted: “The European Union is pleased to share with Mozambique its vast experience in adopting geographical indications. We congratulate the Government for the commercial launch of CABRITO DE TETE, the first Mozambican product to have obtained such standard. It is also an important means of working very closely with rural producers, to establish sustainable and specific means of production which confers them the geographical indicator label.”

ARIPO defines itself as “an inter-governmental organization (IGO) that facilitates cooperation among member states in intellectual property matters, with the objective of pooling financial and human resources, and seeking technological advancement for economic, social, technological, scientific and industrial development.” It currently has 19 member states, consisting of Botswana, eSwatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Of the 19 ARIPO member countries, 11 have acceded to the Banjul Protocol on trademarks and may therefore be designated in an ARIPO trademark application: Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania (mainland), Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Six of these (Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Zimbabwe) have made legal provision for the recognition and enforcement of ARIPO registrations domestically.

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