The 2026 amendments to ARIPO’s Banjul Protocol took effect on 1 March, but the operational impact is becoming clearer as practitioners work under the revised framework. Two points now deserve particular attention in portfolio management. Designated states have a six-month window to communicate acceptance, conditional acceptance or refusal following substantive examination, with an application deemed accepted where no communication is made within the prescribed period. That shorter timetable changes how applicants and counsel should monitor national-stage developments across ARIPO designations.
Cost control has also become more granular. Under the 2026 fee schedule, a list of goods exceeding 50 words in a class attracts an additional US$10 for each word beyond that threshold. Long specifications copied from other filing systems can therefore create unexpectedly large surcharges. The practical response should not be indiscriminate shortening: applicants need to review classification, commercial coverage and word count together before filing. ARIPO’s latest rules are now less a technical amendment than a day-to-day discipline in deadline tracking and specification drafting.
