The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has signed an Accelerated Patent Grant (APG) arrangement with Ghana’s intellectual property office (GHIPO), the Registrar General’s Department, and the Ministry of Justice. The agreement is the first of its kind between the USPTO and an African country.
Under Secretary of Commerce and USPTO Director John A. Squires and the Registrar-General of Ghana, Grace Issahaque, signed the statement of intent on July 9 in Geneva, Switzerland, on the margins of the annual meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The agreement with Ghana is the tenth such arrangement signed by the USPTO and a partner intellectual property office.
"The USPTO is committed to building its relationships with IP offices in Africa," said Under Secretary Squires in a statement on the USPTO website. "With the signing of this agreement with Ghana we are building on that commitment, which took a big step forward 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.
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 faster-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.
