Original news and analysis on international IP policy
After the announcement in December of a record US$75 billion commitment to its International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group said today that this commitment was both historic in terms of value, and also a sign of a paradigm change, including the raising of funds from capital markets.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa - The five-metre tall 3D printer dwarfs four engineers in the renewable energy laboratory at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the biggest tertiary institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- A dispute between Kenyan researchers and the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, over ownership of a cancer discovered after successful clinical trials in Kenya finally seems headed to courts.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- In a move meant to streamline the collection of music royalties in Kenya, the government regulator declined to renew a 2017 licence for a leading collective organisation over unmet standards.
The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and its sister organisation, Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle [African Intellectual Property Organization] (OAPI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to harmonise the intellectual property systems of the two institutions.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Excessive degradation and over-exploitation of plant biodiversity in Kenya has led to depletion of some species and narrowed their genetic base. Apart from the conservation challenge, utilisation and sharing of benefits from plant genetic resources and traditional and associated knowledge among communities has also remained opaque despite constitutional guarantees.
The lack of an intellectual property regime for animal breeding in Kenya is undermining efforts to curb illegal exploitation of Kenyan animal genetic resources, according to industry representatives.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- “Fair use” was at the heart of discussions between intellectual property stakeholders at a recent workshop called to discuss the revised draft copyright amendment bill of South Africa.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa – From establishing training schemes, exchange expertise, sharing research, and helping members acquire and develop technology related to intellectual property and shape copyright associated rights, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has set targets for implementation in 2017.
The Harare Protocol on Patents, Industrial Designs and Utility Models has been amended. The amendments were adopted by the 40th Session of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Administrative Council, and came into operational effect from 1 January 2017.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, civil society, and farmers' representatives have raised serious concerns on the upcoming adoption of draft regulations of a protocol protecting breeders' rights in Africa. Civil society groups and farmers' representatives have been blocked from participating in the meeting expected to adopt the regulations, according to them. The Special Rapporteur is calling for a halt to the process, and for starting again with a more transparent, inclusive, and evidence-based process.
NAIROBI, Kenya -- A ruling this month by a Kenyan court that artists, performers and musicians cannot be compelled or forced to join a collective management organisation (CMO) to collect royalties on their behalf could spell doom for CMOs in the country, experts fear.