IP Snippets

ESWATINI: The Kingdom of Swaziland Is Now the Kingdom of Eswatini

Published: November 1, 2018

Dineo Modibedi Spoor & Fisher Centurion, South Africa

Verifier

Qondile Magagula Magagula & Hlophe Mbabane, Kingdom of Eswatini

Swaziland, one of Africa’s smallest countries, has changed its name.

On April 19, 2018, the monarch, King Mswati III, announced that the country would change its name from the Kingdom of Swaziland to the Kingdom of Eswatini. The country is now known as the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The decision was published in the official gazette, Legal Notice no. 80 of 2018, on May 11, 2018, which states that all reference to the Kingdom of Swaziland in any written laws, international agreements, and legal documents shall be construed and read to reference the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland) is a member state of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a member of the Madrid Protocol, the Paris Convention, and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) regional registration system. The Kingdom’s WIPO ST.3 County Code remains SZ following the name change.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. Law & Practice updates are published without comment from INTA except where it has taken an official position.