PATENT
REGISTRATIONS
Democratic
Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire)
Patent protection
is obtainable via a national filing. The DRC is a member of the
International Convention, but is not a member of PCT.
The requirements
for filing an application in the DRC are as follows:
(a) A Power
of Attorney;
(b) An Assignment of Invention (if necessary);
(c) A copy of the specification (including claims, drawings, and
abstract) in French; and
(d) A certified copy of the priority application with a sworn French
translation of the first page of the priority application.
The specification
can be filed in English and the French translation, power of attorney,
and assignment of invention can be filed belatedly and there is
no specific deadline for submitting these documents.
Our cost
estimate for filing a patent application in the DRC is between about
US$ 2200.00 and US$ 2500.00 (excluding translation costs, if necessary).
