Hargreaves, Robert ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8778-7417 (2026) Dandelions in the Horn of Africa: Bio-Industrial Innovation and the 2025 Transformation of Ethiopian Patent Law. Journal of African Law. (In Press)

Text (Article) JAL-2026-0031 - Final.docx - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (50kB) Request a copy

Abstract

On 15 August 2025, Ethiopia acceded to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, integrating its patent system into the global framework governing priority and national treatment. While accession preserves substantive autonomy over patentability, it reshapes the legal environment for long-standing exclusions regarding plant varieties and biological processes under Proclamation No 123/1995. This article examines these implications using dandelion-derived rubber as a case study to test the boundary between excluded biological phenomena and patentable technical interventions. Focusing on article 4, the analysis develops a process-sensitive framework to distinguish excluded subject matter from industrial processes involving mechanical, chemical and enzymatic disruption. It argues that Ethiopia’s "Patent of Introduction" (articles 18 to 21), operating together with the right of priority under article 11, now functions as a vital procedural bridge, stabilizing the temporal and informational risks of introducing complex bio-industrial technologies within an international priority architecture. Furthermore, the article explores how article 10bis of the Convention provides a necessary "regulatory backstop" through unfair competition norms, preserving competitive integrity where patent claims remain uncertain. Ultimately, the study demonstrates how Ethiopia can reconcile national exclusionary policies with international integration through doctrinal interpretation rather than statutory harmonization

Item Type:	Article
Status:	In Press
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
School/Department:	York Business School
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/15378

University Staff: Request a correction | RaY Editors: Update this record