Third edition of Africa Intellectual Property end of the year town hall meeting 2022
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION IN AFRICA IN 2022: WHAT HAS BEEN DONE? WHAT IS ON GOING? AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
The International Trade & Research Center (ITRC) specially invites you to its third edition of Africa Intellectual Property Town Hall Meeting
Theme: Intellectual Property Protection in Africa in 2022: What has been done? what is on going? and what should be done?
Date: December 8th, 2022
Time: 12:00PM – LAGOS (West Africa Time)
| CONCEPT NOTE Over the years, there have been several policy interventions and reforms to ensure a robust intellectual property ecosystem in Africa. In the aspect of geographic indication, in 2017, the African Union adopted the Continental Strategy for Geographical Indications in Africa 2018–2023 (GISA) with a view to supporting food security and sustainable rural development. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement, launched in 2021, makes provision for the Intellectual Property Protocol, aimed at having a harmonized intellectual property protection regime in Africa. In 2022, intellectual property witnessed substantial reforms at the WTO, AU, and national levels. WTO members successfully concluded the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva from June 12 to June 17, securing multilaterally negotiated outcomes on a series of key trade initiatives. The issue of patent waiver for vaccine production, which was championed mainly by South Africa and India, was part of the outcomes of WTO Agreement Mc12. Within the level of the African Union, the negotiation of the intellectual property protocol of the AfCFTA was also finalized this year, 2022, by different state parties, ushering in a new IP regime in Africa. Intellectual property has been a top priority in many African countries in 2022 and has played a key role in fostering creativity and innovation and boosting economic growth at the country level. For instance, in Nigeria, the Nigerian government, in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), validated the draft national intellectual property policy and strategy, which was held from September 13–15, 2022. The Nigeria National Intellectual Property Policy recognizes the importance of a comprehensive and conducive IP ecosystem to attain social and cultural development and sustainable economic growth, which was expressed in the mission statement. It sets in place programs and projects that encompass holistic interlinkages and aims to create institutional mechanisms for implementation, monitoring, and review. The predominant driving force behind the extant National IPRC Policy strategy is to recognise the integral role played by IP in encouraging and promoting competitiveness, creativity, and innovation. Also in Kenya, Kenya’s Anti-Counterfeit Authority on the 1st of July, 2022 made it compulsory to record IP rights on all imported goods (not services) in Kenya. Failure to comply will constitute an offense. The mandatory recording will mean strengthened protection against counterfeiting for those goods once the rights are recorded. In September 2022, Egypt also launched a national strategy for intellectual property. It is the first step of its kind in the field of IP in Egypt, and it is intended to serve as a cornerstone and a solid basis for the establishment of the IP system in Egypt and its legislative and institutional advancement. The strategy is consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Development Agenda, Egypt’s Vision 2030, and the structural reform program for the Egyptian economy. There are other numerous developments within the intellectual property system in Africa and the Intellectual Property end-of-year town hall meeting provides an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss laws, policies, and practices that strengthened the IP ecosystem in 2022, as well as practices that failed to provide adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement in Africa for inventors, creators, brands, manufacturers, and service providers whose livelihoods are tied to innovation- and creativity-driven sectors. The third edition of the Intellectual Property Town Hall Meeting aims to identify a wide range of intellectual property concerns in the past, present, and future, including challenges with cross-border enforcement of intellectual property rights against infringement, protection of intellectual property on social media, and other ongoing, systemic issues regarding IP protection and enforcement in Africa. |
| OBJECTIVES OF THE WEBINAR |
| (a) To increase the awareness and understanding of what has been done in the area of Intellectual Property in Africa in 2022. (b) To understand the current state of the intellectual property in Africa. (c) To find out what should be done in the areas of future priorities of Intellectual Property in Africa. |
TARGET AUDIENCE |
| policymakers IP Offices IP experts SMEs Industry stakeholders/ partners General Public |
EXPECTED OUTCOME |
| (a) Increased knowledge and understanding of the status of Intellectual Property in Africa (b) Understanding the challenges affecting intellectual property in Africa. (c) Enhanced knowledge of Measures that can strengthen the future of intellectual property in Africa |
DURATION |
| 2 hours |
PROPOSED DATE |
| Thursday, 8th December, 12:00PM (West African Time) |
TECHNOLOGY |
| Hybrid/ Zoom |
For more information contact@it-rc.org |