Despite the new DRC Constitution and attempts to enforce existing legal provisions, protection of Congolese properties rights still depends upon a currently dysfunctional public administration and judicial system. Some senior-level officials are making efforts to restore and improve the legal and administrative frameworks but the challenge will be to implement these changes at a practical level.

Ownership interest in movable properties (e.g. equipment, vehicles, etc.) is secured and registered through the Ministry of the Interior’s Office of the Notary. Real estate property (e.g. buildings and land) is secured and registered at the Ministry of Land’s Office of the Mortgage Registrar.

In principle, intellectual property rights are legally protected in the DRC. Because of poor-performing administration and judicial systems, however, this protection does not always exist in practice. The country has signed on to a number of international agreements with organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Paris Convention for Protection of Intellectual Properties, which protects trademarks and patents. The DRC is also a member of the Berne Convention that protects copyright, artistic works, and literary rights. The maximum protection that these conventions provide is 20 years for patents and 20 years, renewable, for trademarks, beginning from the date of registration. If it is not used within three years, a trademark can be cancelled. The DRC has not yet signed the WIPO Internet Treaties.

The GDRC’s Ministry of Industry and Small/Medium Enterprises is currently working on IPR-related legislation in order to comply with all existing international agreements.