End-to-End Trademark Registration in Burkina Faso

To obtain trademark protection and legal recognition in Burkina Faso, your mark must be registered through the OAPI system, not directly at a national office. Burkina Faso is a member of the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle OAPI, which centralizes trademark registration for its 17 member states.

By filing one single application with OAPI, you obtain protection not only in Burkina Faso, but automatically across all OAPI member countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

Because OAPI works on a centralized and unitary basis, registering through this system is highly efficient for brand owners who are active, or plan to be active, in multiple West and Central African markets.

OAPI is also a member state of the Madrid Protocol, meaning that international trademark owners can extend an existing international registration to OAPI via the Madrid System. We offer services for trademark filing through the Madrid System.

If you file a combined trademark (including both word and figurative elements) through OAPI for protection in Burkina Faso, your exclusive rights will be limited to the exact configuration in which the mark is filed and registered. If you intend to use the word element independently from the logo (or vice versa), it is advisable to file an additional trademark covering only the element you want to protect separately.

To register a trademark in Burkina Faso, you will generally need:

• Original Power of Attorney, signed. No notarization or legalization required.
• The name or logo you want to register
• The applicant’s details

Your iGERENT consultant will confirm the exact requirements for your case and guide you through each step.

The average time to obtain a trademark registration covering Burkina Faso (through OAPI) is approximately 9 months.

This is an estimated timeframe for straightforward applications, based on current processing times. The actual duration may vary depending on:

• The workload at OAPI,
• Any formal or substantive objections raised during examination, and
• The existence of opposition proceedings initiated by third parties after publication.

Once your trademark has successfully proceeded to registration through OAPI, it will:

• Be valid for 10 years from the application date, and
• Enjoy protection simultaneously in all OAPI member states, including Burkina Faso.

After this initial ten-year term, the registration can be renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten years. If the renewal is not requested before the expiration date, there is still a grace period of six (6) months after expiry during which the registration can be renewed upon payment of late renewal fees.

If the trademark is not renewed within the grace period, the registration will lapse and protection will be lost, requiring a new application if you wish to regain rights.

Yes. Because Burkina Faso is protected via OAPI, any opposition against a conflicting application is handled at OAPI level.

Interested third parties may file opposition actions against a trademark application within six (6) months from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of OAPI. During this period, owners of earlier rights may argue that the new application should be refused, for example due to confusing similarity with their prior mark.

The likelihood of success of an opposition will depend on the specific circumstances of the case, including similarity of the signs, overlap of goods and services, and distinctiveness of the earlier mark.

Although use is not required for a trademark to be registered through OAPI for Burkina Faso, post-registration use is crucial to maintain protection.

If the trademark is not used for more than five (5) years after registration, it becomes vulnerable to cancellation actions based on non-use. Importantly:

• Use in any of the OAPI member states is sufficient to prevent vulnerability to cancellation, not only in Burkina Faso specifically.

Therefore, genuine use of the trademark in at least one OAPI country, supported by evidence, can help you defend against non-use cancellation actions.

No. We do not provide standalone address for service services in Burkina Faso

When you instruct iGERENT to handle your trademark application in Burkina Faso, the address for service requirement is automatically covered as part of our full service. We work with qualified local trademark attorneys who act as your official representative before the relevant Trademark Office, including compliance with all local representation and address for service requirements.

We do not offer address for service services separately for applicants who wish to file directly on their own in jurisdictions where self-filing may be technically permitted. Our services are designed to ensure that applications are properly filed, examined, and managed by experienced local professionals.

If you would like assistance with your trademark registration in Burkina Faso or any other country, feel free to contact us here and we will be happy to guide you through the process. We offer services worldwide.

Choosing iGERENT for your trademark application in Burkina Faso means working with a team that values transparency, reliability, and practical results.

Trusted by 12,000+ businesses and with over 25,000 trademarks handled since 2014, we simplify trademark registration in Burkina Faso through one dedicated specialist coordinating local attorneys worldwide.

• We provide clear quotes that include both official fees and our professional fees, so you know exactly what you’re paying for.
• We’ve managed trademark filings and portfolios for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established international brands.
• We keep you in the loop with regular status updates, not just at filing, but all the way to registration.

Don’t just take our word for it, see why businesses trust iGERENT as the best trademark registration service.