Africa-Press – Eswatini. Registrars have been challenged to transform national Intellectual Property (IP) offices into proper agents for economic development.
This was mentioned during the Heads of Intellectual Property Office Conference (HIPOC) for African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) member states organised by ARIPO in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The event was attended by 21 member states and it was held at Royal Villas in Ezulwini.
Registrar
Chairman of the Administrative Council, Willie Mushayi said it was up to each office and more specifically, the registrar general to create linkages that promote the profile of the IP office.
“Even as we develop the national IP policies, it is important to involve all strategic stakeholders and make sure that it anchors well with the national development policies,” he said.
ARIPO’s vision according to Mushayi was to be Africa’s leading intellectual property organisation that promotes socio-economic development. Mushayi explained that the vision was under threat from competing interests through such developments as the PAIPO in the recent past and now the ongoing AFCFTA Intellectual Property Protocol negotiations.
Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo, on the other hand, said it was generally agreed that economic development and growth that relies on IP as a catalyst can no longer be the purview of the advanced economies of the world.
“Developing nations must have full and active participation in forums involving the use of IP for economic growth,” the minister said.
He explained that IP was a powerful economic and socio-economic tool that holds a huge potential for making impact in economies.
The minister said IP was a highly technical tool that requires constant simplification for uptake by the relevant stakeholders.
“This conference is a platform for our delegates to work together to explore and find ways to bring simplicity and solutions in the challenges that face us on our path to 21st Century industrialisation where IP protection plays a crucial role,” Khumalo said.
Outlining strides made by the country towards unlocking the potential held by the public in using intangible resources for economic growth, the minister said government had recently extensively reformed its IP statutory regime.
He said this not only calls for a refocused outlook on IP but it also calls for new processes and procedures in the way government carries out the administration of IP.
The minister said old ways of thinking about IP cannot sustain the country. “We are continuing with refining and updating IP administration with appropriate skills and capacity demanded by the new framework. We have new leadership at the IP Office. The leadership has renewed focus; a focus that moves away from mere registration of IP rights into a focus prioritising the commercial exploitation of those IP rights.
“As such we expect to see tangible results in the economy of Eswatini,” the minister said.
Global
The minister said in the global trading system of nowadays they may have some limits on mechanisms they could use for IP administration, but they still have the flexibilities and exceptions at their disposal that they could use to attain economic development aligned with their needs.
Registrar of Intellectual Property Dr Celucolo Dludlu said it was imperative that administration of IP kept an eye on the impact it makes outside of the IP administration circles. Dr Dludlu said the decisions they make in IP administration were not to be taken lightly.
“The administrative decisions we make have consequences for economic growth and development, market competition or lack thereof, vibrancy of internal or external trade, barriers to market entry, access to medicines and other subjects,” he said.
He added that equipping oneself in the aspects that are covered in the themes of the conference was advisable in order to ensure that in the ARIPO region their IP administration has economic growth as one of its firm pillars.
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