Ethiopia’s Minister of Innovation and Technology, Frehiwot Tamru, has directed the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority (EIPA) to move beyond registration, fully digitise application, examination and registration, and develop a policy, legal and institutional framework on ownership of AI-related inventions and works (record).
What was directed
A review of IP policies, proclamations, regulations and directives; disaggregated analysis of IP data; full digitalisation of patent, utility model, trade mark and copyright services; and alignment of the Authority’s next five-year strategic plan with the National Grand Strategy.
Why it is notable
Few African IP offices have addressed AI-generated subject matter directly. Most patent statutes on the continent, like those elsewhere, assume a human inventor. A stated policy objective in Addis Ababa is therefore a signal to filers and to other offices, even before any text exists.
Status
These are ministerial directives. No draft law, consultation or timetable has been published. The Meridian’s Africa IP Tracker records this as proposed policy, not enacted law.
Source: TechAfrica News, 3 November 2026.
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