Angola has basic intellectual property rights
protection and is working to strengthen existing
legislation and enforcement. The attribution of
intellectual property rights is regulated by the
Ministry of Industry (trademarks, patents, and
designs) and the Ministry of Culture (authorship,
literary and artistic rights). Intellectual
property is protected through Law 3/92 for
industrial property and Law 4/90 for the attribution
and protection of copyrights. Angola's National
Assembly adopted the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Intellectual Property in
2004, but this measure awaits presidential approval.
No court cases testing the strength of these laws
involving U.S. intellectual property have been
filed. Angola is a member of the World
International Property Organization (WIPO) and makes
use of its international classification of patents
and international classification of products and
services to identify and codify requests for patents
and trademark registration. Each petition for a
patent is subject to a fee that varies by type of
request.

In June 2004, the Angolan parliament passed a
new Law on Land and Urban Planning, which came into
effect in September. It reaffirms that all land
ultimately belongs to the state and sets out
regulations regarding different forms of land
occupation, leasing, and use of land for private
purposes. In practice, most urban and some non-
urban land will become privately owned. This law
addresses past ambiguities about land tenure and
should encourage more property investment.