The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has entered into an Accelerated Patent Grant (APG) arrangement with Ghana’s Intellectual Property Office (GHIPO), the Registrar-General’s Department, and the Ministry of Justice—the first such agreement between the USPTO and an African nation.
The statement of intent was signed on July 9 in Geneva, Switzerland, during the annual meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), by Under Secretary of Commerce and USPTO Director John A. Squires and Ghana’s Registrar-General, Grace Issahaque.
This marks the tenth APG arrangement concluded by the USPTO with a partner intellectual property office. “The USPTO is committed to building its relationships with IP offices in Africa,” Squires said in a statement published on the USPTO website. “With the signing of this agreement with Ghana, we are building on that commitment, which advanced significantly last year with the installation of the USPTO’s first-ever intellectual property attaché for the region, Katherine Hiner, in Johannesburg, South Africa.”
Under the APG process, an eligible patent applicant who has been granted a U.S. patent by the USPTO may request that Ghana’s IP office grant a patent on a corresponding Ghanaian patent application pending before GHIPO. This worksharing arrangement will continue for five years from the date of signing.
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Guidelines describing GHIPO’s implementation of the programme and the process for how a U.S. patent holder can take advantage of the arrangement will soon be available on GHIPO’s website.
Following the historic signing, Under Secretary Squires delivered welcome remarks at a WIPO Assemblies side event with the U.S. Mission and Universal Music Group, “IP for Growth Initiative”. Speaking at a livestreamed panel discussion and performance featuring African musicians and U.S. artist John Legend, USPTO Attaché Katherine Hiner detailed the role that the USPTO can play in empowering creators in Africa.
“In today’s global marketplace, rights holders need to have good, consistent laws that protect IP across borders,” she said, adding that “this includes recruiting and training staff, procurement of the necessary equipment, ongoing review of procedures, and facilitating an open dialogue with rights holders in their markets”.With a gross domestic product of $114 billion in 2025, Ghana is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa.
In 2024, according to WIPO, 33 per cent of foreign patent applications in Ghana originated with U.S.-based filers. The agreement is expected to significantly improve the efficiency of Ghana’s patent examination process by reducing processing time while maintaining the country’s intellectual property standards.
Source: GraphicOnline
