Namibia Industrial Property Draft Bill - update

Fellow blogger Paul Asiimwe reported that Brigitte Weidlich of The Namibian had stated that the long-awaited bill to protect industrial patents, trademarks and industrial designs in Namibia was in its final stage and might head to Parliament before the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Readers may recall that the Bill was circulated for comment by the SAIIPL and the Afro-Leo has heard nothing further. Those who took part in the discussion on the Bill would have recalled that a number of queries and comments had been raised. Afro-IP also received a number of requests for copies of the Bill by interested parties and was asked to put forward comments to the relevant SAIIPL committee. If anyone can enlighten this blog, either as to the progress of the Bill or the attitude toward the comments, we would be most grateful.

In the meantime, this blogger attended the Adams and Adams centenary function last night at the "Palace of Justice" in Pretoria last night, which was a wonderful occasion to meet who's who in the local RSA profession and hear some good speeches. It is refreshing to note that despite the competitive tensions between firms, the centenary was exceptionally well supported by rival firms, which is a credit to both the profession and also, the centurions. One memorable conversation involved a lively discussion on the pros and cons of compulsory sabbaticals for partners of firms. Perhaps an idea for Afro-Ip's second poll? Congratulations to the centurions, again!