The Bangui Accord has been revised to comply with the TRIPs Agreement and the new law came into effect on February 28, 2002. The principal changes are listed below.

Proof of use is no longer required to support trademark renewal applications filed on or after February 28, 2002. This includes renewal applications filed during the six-month grace period.

A trademark registration is now subject to cancellation based on non-use for a period of five consecutive years prior to the date of the filing of the cancellation action, instead of the date of registration.

The patent term is extended to twenty years in respect of all granted patents and an application for an extension of time beyond ten years will no longer be required. This includes patents that have reached their ten-year term but are still in the extension grace period when the law came into force.

PCT applications are now subject to technical examination from which they were previously excluded.

There is no longer a twelve-month time limit for recording changes relating to a proprietor.

License agreements and deeds of assignment between nationals of OAPI territories and non-nationals are no longer required to receive the approval of the Competent National Authority.

Protection for layout designs of integrated circuits and plant varieties is introduced.