In Eritrea (which was one of the former 14 provinces of Ethiopia), where the Italian occupation lasted for more than a half century, the patent and trademark laws had a deep root. The laws then introduced were: Law of August 30, 1868, No. 4577, regarding trademark and design of industry; Law of October 30, 1859, No. 3731; Law of June 29, 1939, No. 1127, and Rules of February 5, 1940, No. 244, and subsequent amendments.

Eritrea became independent on May 24, 1993. The transitional government has published a law providing for a Commercial Registrar in Asmara and rules have been promulgated as to registration of trade names and trademarks by “duly licensed traders, conducting a trading activity in Eritrea”. So far, laws concerning patents or trademarks are not yet promulgated and no provision has yet been made for the registration of marks by foreign entities and the activities of the new Office currently are restricted to the recordal of local business names.