Cameroon

Firm overview

Von Seidels is a leading African intellectual property (IP) law firm renowned for protecting, managing, and enforcing IP rights across the continent. The firm assists local and international clients with obtaining and managing all forms of IP protection with a strong focus on patents, trade marks, designs and copyright. The firm also deals with all IP related commercial activities, including transactions, structuring, IP aspects of exchange control, agreements, licensing, transfers, valuations and litigation.

Von Seidels has become one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and most respected IP firms, backed by a team of 130 people. Its attorneys combine deep technical expertise with sharp commercial acumen and a commitment to client-centric service.

The firm provides IP services throughout Africa with regional offices / service hubs located in:

South Africa (headquarters in Cape Town, satellite office in Johannesburg)
Nigeria - serving West Africa
Kenya - serving East Africa
Namibia - serving the ARIPO region (20+ African countries)
Cameroon - serving the OAPI region (17 African countries)

The firm delivers a full suite of IP services, including patents, trade marks, designs, copyright, anti counterfeiting, licensing, commercial transactions, portfolio strategy, and high impact litigation. Its client base spans startups, research institutions, and leading global technology companies.

Von Seidels is consistently recognised for excellence and ranked as a top tier IP law firm in South Africa, recognised for its cross border strength, standout results in patent and trade mark matters, and its ability to translate complex IP challenges into strategic business outcomes.

As the first African IP firm to achieve ISO 9001 certification, Von Seidels sets the benchmark for service quality and reliability. Its recent expansion into Kenya reflects its ongoing commitment to strengthen on the ground expertise and support Africa’s accelerating innovation economy.

Firm overview

OUR JURISDICTION

The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) with headquarters in Cameroon, is an intergovernmental organization acting as the industrial property office for its seventeen (17) member states to wit: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros Islands, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

OAPI is responsible for the filing, registration, maintenance and publication of Patents, Trademarks or Service Marks, Utility Models, Industrial Designs, Trade Names, Geographical Indications, Layout Designs (topographies) of Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety Protection within its member states.

One of the peculiarities of OAPI is that it operates a regional system of filing whereby a single registration automatically covers the seventeen (17) member states.

WHO WE ARE

We are an emerging law firm dedicated to providing clients with bespoke IP services at cost effective rates whilst maintaining a high standard of professionalism.

As OAPI licensed IP property attorneys, we offer you a full range of legal and professional intellectual property services focused on advising, assisting and representing our clients in registering, obtaining, exploiting, maintaining, and defending their industrial property portfolios before the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) and other jurisdictions.

We understand the importance of intellectual property rights and the role they play in protecting your valuable assets. That is why we provide tailored solutions for you that are both effective and efficient, by maintaining a high level of responsiveness to your instructions, and diligence in executing our services whilst providing up-to-date feedback on the progress of your assignments.

Thanks to our extensive experience and expertise, we have successfully established sustainable professional relationships with IP practitioners in other jurisdictions in Africa and abroad, ensuring that our clients receive unparalleled services; reflected by our remarkable satisfaction rate of over 99.5%, which is a testament to our commitment to legal advisory excellence.

Firm - Year of Establishment: 2018

Total Number of IP Practitioners: 2

Languages Spoken at the Firm: English and French

Network Memberships: INTA