Register of Companies and Individual Enterprises

Business registration operates as a single-point integrated service. Once you complete your business registration, you have also completed tax registration with the Rwanda Revenue Authority, employer registration with the Social Security Fund of Rwanda and notification of business activities to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. This integrated registration is achieved through the filling of a consolidated application form covering all the information required for registration and notification with the relevant agencies.

Business Registration is concluded by the issuance of a business registration certificate which has a unique enterprise code that acts as a unique identifier of the business in relation to any public agency. The Enterprise/Company code is also the tax identification number (TIN).

The business registration services cover all businesses determined by the Company Law No 07/2009 of 27/04/2009 and/or the Ministerial Order N° 02/09/MINICOM of 08/05/2009.

The filling of the consolidated application form can be performed via the online registration service

Register of the Security Interests in Movable Property

Any third party can access information stored in the Register of the Security Interests in Movable Property system via web by registering as public user. The user may also place an order for the official extract, request information by phone or directly from any of the ORG offices. In this case the clerk will retrieve the information and provide it to the user.

Information service for the Security Interests in Movable property

Register of Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property protection

The procedures for protection of industrial property and copyright are essentially similar, however the requirements differ, with some applications more complex than others. The most intricate procedures are for patents of invention and utility models.

Granting of an industrial property right involves certain steps like registration and publication as well as evidencing protection. The procedure for protection starts with the submission of an application. The contents of application vary with the category of intellectual property right as do the requirements for attachments. All applications are examined by the ORG to ensure compliance with the requirements of the law.

Registers

Intellectual property is divided into industrial property rights and copyrights and related rights.

Industrial property rights are divided into:

• Patents of invention
• Utility model certificate
• Industrial designs and models
• Layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits
• Marks; collective marks; certification marks; trade names
• Geographical indications

Copyrights are divided into;

• Literary works
• Musical works
• Computer programs
• dramatic and dramatico-music works
• choreographic works
• audiovisual works
• works of drawing, painting, sculpture, lithography, tapestry and other works of fine art
• works of architecture
• photographic works, including works made by means similar to photographic process
• works of applied art such as handicraft
• illustrations, maps, plains, sketches and 3-D works relating to geography, topography, architecture or science
• works of Rwandan folklore

The protection includes availability, acquisition, scope, maintenance and use of the rights. It is achieved through a system of transfer of rights or licensing them to other people than the inventor, innovator etc. The protection also includes the interest of the public for third parties to make use of the inventions, innovations etc. for developing new ideas without violating the rights of the creators.