Category Africa

Green Economy Initiative Names Innovation Award Winners In Africa

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that 27 African eco-enterprises were the winners of a contest based on business models bringing social and environmental benefits to local communities. Affordable light and electricity, reusable, fireproof bricks made from waste plastic, a mobile phone application used by health professionals for eye care, and the empowerment of waste pickers, are some of the examples of the winning initiatives.

Catherine Saez
September 10, 2015

Resisting The Law Of Greed

In 2011 in a small court in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle, a judge ordered the American oil giant Chevron to pay US$9 billion dollars in damages for pollution in the region that was caused by drilling activities in the 1970s and 1980s. The company quickly denounced landmark ruling as illegitimate. More than a year before the final ruling had been issued, Chevron had already taken steps to initiate an investor-state dispute against the Government of Ecuador under the terms of a US-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The company seeks to avoid paying the US$9 billion by convincing an international tribunal that the courts of Ecuador are corrupt and that the government is ultimately responsible for any environmental damage and associated health issues experienced by local residents, writes Kyla Tienhaara in Green Agenda.

Intellectual Property Watch
September 9, 2015

KhoiSan Dig For Indigenous Knowledge Rights In Climate Change Mitigation Practices

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - A project to assess the impact of climate change on KhoiSan communities and the production of local level decision-making in rural communities is expected to contribute towards the guidelines and protections for indigenous knowledge holders under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), according to the project leader.

Munyaradzi Makoni
September 1, 2015

South African Government Conference Reveals Views On Draft Copyright Bill

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Stakeholders from various positions of influence in the realm of intellectual property - including government - put a fine tooth comb through the South African Copyright Amendment Bill at a consultative conference called by the Department of Trade and Industry yesterday.

Linda Daniels
August 28, 2015
3 Comments

Global IP Community: Eventful Season For Career Changes

The past few months have been eventful for career changes in the international intellectual property community. Here is a look at some of the changes in governments, international organisations, NGOs/academia, private sector and law offices.

Catherine Saez
August 27, 2015

WIPO Launches Development Agenda Project In Uganda

KAMPALA, UGANDA - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a Development Agenda program in Uganda, aimed at building capacity in the use of appropriate technology, specific technical and scientific information to address development challenges in the country.

Hillary Muheebwa
August 25, 2015

Ecuador, BRICS Moving Away From International Investment Dispute Regime, Paper Says

As part of a series of publications on investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement, a developing country multilateral organisation released a policy brief focusing on Ecuador's experience and action against the current dispute settlement system.

Catherine Saez
August 18, 2015
1 Comment

Conference Looks At Public Interest In South Africa’s Draft Copyright Bill

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – A conference here this week elicited a robust debate amongst intellectual property stakeholders in South Africa about the objectives of the far-reaching draft Copyright Amendment Bill.

Linda Daniels
August 13, 2015
4 Comments

South Africa Draft Copyright Amendment Bill Published For Public Comment

The publication for public comment of the much-anticipated South African draft Copyright Amendment Bill has cautiously been welcomed by some stakeholders, who believe that parts of the draft are unworkable.

UNCTAD Official: Need For Policy Coherence In Local Pharmaceutical Production

Despite progress in recent years to boost local pharmaceutical production in developing countries, policy coherence across the countries is lacking, according to an official at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Ani Mamikon, Rishi Dhir and Ani Mamikon, Rishi Dhir
July 17, 2015

Learning From Ebola

In 1976, Yambuku village school headmaster Mabalo Lokela felt sick when he returned from a trip to northern Zaire near the Central African Republic border. He had a high fever, diarrhea, and bleeding. Because he was initially believed to have malaria, Lokela was given quinine, but his symptoms got worse and he soon died. Shortly afterwards, those who had been in contact with Lokela also died. ... Almost four decades later, there is still no cure for Ebola, despite the fact that drug development on average takes about a third of this time frame, write William Fisher and Quentin Palfrey.

New ARIPO Plant Protocol: Conflict Of Farmers’ And Breeders’ Rights?

KAMPALA, UGANDA -- Member states of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) have adopted a protocol for the protection of new varieties of plants. The measure is aimed at modernising African agricultural practices, but some say it comes at the expense of age-old traditional farming practices, such as saving and re-using seed.