BURKINA FASO Law and Practice Contributed by: Bobson Coulibaly, Pierre Yanogo, Oumarou Cisse and Diana Woba, SCP Yanogo Bobson
7. Intellectual Property 7.1 Patents
to all production, distribution and service activi - ties in Burkina Faso, including those carried out by legal persons governed by public law. An anti-competitive agreement is an agree - ment or concerted action that has the purpose or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition in a given market for goods or ser - vices under Article 16 of the Competition Act. Article 2 of Annex III to the Bangui Agreement defines an act of unfair competition as any act or practice which, in the course of industrial or commercial activities, creates or is likely to cre - ate confusion of industrial or commercial activi - ties or creates or is likely to create confusion with another’s enterprise or activities, in particu - lar with the products or services offered by that enterprise. The scope of application extends to practices implemented within the jurisdiction of the WAE - MU and which have an effect on trade between member states. 6.4 Abuse of Dominant Position Article 17 of the Competition Act defines a domi - nant position as a position of economic strength enjoyed by an undertaking, group, association or group of undertakings, which gives it the power to prevent effective competition from developing and being maintained on the relevant market, by enabling it to behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, its customers and ultimately consumers. The scope of application extends to practices implemented in the territory of Burkina Faso which have effects on the national market.
A patent is defined as title issued to protect an invention. The patent expires at the end of the 20th calendar year from the date the application is filed. The patent application is filed with the OAPI or national organisation and contains the following documents. • A patent application addressed to the general manager of the relevant organisation in a suf - ficient number of copies. • Proof of payment of the filing and publication fees to the relevant organisation. • An unstamped private power of attorney if the applicant is represented by an agent. • A sealed envelope containing: (a) a description of the invention which is the subject of the patent applied for, made in a clear and complete manner so that a person skilled in the art with average knowledge and ability can carry it out; (b) such drawings as may be necessary or useful to understand the invention; (c) the claim or claims defining the scope of protection sought and not exceeding the content of the description of the invention which is the subject of the patent applied for; (d) a descriptive abstract summarising what is set out in the description, the claim(s) referred to and any drawings in support of the abstract; and (e) sufficient indications as to the best mode of carrying out the invention known to the inventor at the date of filing and, if prior - ity is claimed, at the priority date of the application. Any interested party may oppose the grant of a patent by sending a written notice setting out the
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