Theory and practice of intellectual property
№ 3 / 2026

ISSN (Print) 2308-0361
ISSN (Online) 2519-2744

PDF (English)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33731/tpip.2026.3.11

Submitted     2026-07-20
Accepted      2026-08-20
Published      2026-09-10

African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO): in search of balance between patent protection and access to medicines

Sergiy Kondratyuk
Ph.D. (Law),
Scientific Researcher at the Department of Research on Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights in the Healthcare Sector,
Intellectual Property Scientific Research Institute of the
National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3950-8217

Abstract
Patents play a key role in the affordability of new medicines. As Ukraine is contemplating the possibility of becoming an EPO member due to pressure within the EU accession process, to better understand implications for access to medicines, it is worth considering the experiences of ARIPO member states. This study shows proliferation of pharmaceutical patent evergreening at ARIPO, with secondary applications accounting for 60% of filings and secondary patents for 54% of grants. Main types of evergreening avenues used at ARIPO in order of frequency are compositions (28% of secondary patent applications), combinations (20%), polymorphs (14%), salts (12%), methods of treatment (12%), and methods of preparing intermediates (11%). Notwithstanding criticisms from academia and civil society, the ARIPO legal framework, including its Guidelines for Examination, still has not implemented any anti-evergreening rules aimed against patenting of new forms, compositions and combinations of known substances. There were many similarities identified in ARIPO and EPO approaches towards assessment of inventive step for secondary pharmaceutical patent applications.

Keywords: ARIPO, EPO, patent evergreening, access to medicines, patentability criteria

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