On the 25th of May 1963, the leaders of 30 independent African states signed the founding charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa.   Thirty-nine years later, the OAU established its successor organisation, the African Union (AU) in South Africa but the historic event in Ethiopia is still commemorated by the people of the continent and the diaspora, with Africa Day celebrations on May 25.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the OAU and the African Union has chosen “Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance” as its theme for 2013.  This will form the leitmotif for celebrations across the continent and throughout the world while also highlighting the Union’s ongoing efforts to promote African unity not merely as an ideology but also in practical terms.  The Union has specialised technical committees focusing on matters such as trade and customs and industry, science and technology as well as eight regional economic communities, which all contribute towards harmonising trade and developmental matters on the continent.

Diplomatic ties between the member states were also useful in establishing the continent’s two main intellectual property organisations, namely OAPI and ARIPO.   A draft statute on the creation of a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organisation was published by the AU’s Scientific, Technical and Research Commission in 2012 and while this is but the first step towards the creation of an over-arching IP body, it is definitely a noteworthy development and one that Spoor & Fisher will be monitoring with considerable interest.