COSON working hard to establish its status in Nigeria
Source: COSON |
Source: COSON |
OverviewCopyright Office
Zimbabwe is a Contracting Party to a number of treaties on intellectual property including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It is also a Member of ARIPO.
• The Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office (ZIPO) is the competent office responsible for copyright and related rights in Zimbabwe.Industrial Property Office
• This online address of this office is www.justice.gov.zw.
• The Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office (ZIPO) is the competent office responsible for the administration of intellectual property rights in Zimbabwe.Social Media Presence
• The website for this office can be found here.
Collapsible Ballot Boxes |
Izuogu |
"Overview
Zambia is a Contracting Party to a number of treaties on intellectual property including the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It is also a Member of the ARIPO.
Copyright Office
• The Copyright Administration (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services) is the competent office responsible for copyright and related rights in Zambia.
• This office currently has no website.
Industrial Property Office
• The Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) is the competent office responsible for the administration of intellectual property rights in Zambia.
• The website for this office is www.pacra.org.zm
• The Intellectual Property Unit (IPU) of the Zambian Police is responsible for intellectual property enforcement in Zambia.
Social Media Presence
None found.
Intellectual Property update in Zambia
Afro-IP has reported on various developments of practical significance in recent times including here, here and here.
ConclusionKingsley tweets as @IPinAfrica
Afro-IP found a very neat website for the industrial property office (PACRA) in Zambia. This website succinctly explains the different types of IP and how to obtain registration for each one of them in Zambia – including forms and fees. Other good features on the website include the business names search facility, the news/events page to keep users informed, and key opposition decisions which are on how to register a trade mark page.
Our discovery is very encouraging when compared with other ARIPO member states such as Swaziland, Liberia and Malawi -- but there is always that bit of room for improvement. Afro Leo would have fancied a search facility for registrable intellectual property rights and some social media presence which could help PACRA with intellectual property sensitisation".
Source: zonquasdrift.de |
Canoe Connotation |
No man[e] - Afro leo's trim |
For those who happen to find themselves in Geneva in two-weeks time, WIPO is presenting a 1.5 hour program on pharmaceutical licensing. Titled “WIPO Global Challenges Seminar on Licensing and Prices: New Approaches in the Pharmaceutical Sector,” the program aims to share new breakthroughs in “the field of IP licensing and pricing in the pharmaceutical sector.” Afro Leo hopes these breakthroughs in licensing and pricing increase access to much needed medicines like ARVs, and that looks likely.
The speaker list:
With these speakers on the bill, this program is sure to tackle many issues relevant for IP in Africa. If any readers are able to attend the program, please let us know how it goes!
Full meeting details here: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2012/wipo_gc_lic_ge_12/index.html (Afro-Leo could find nothing on cost)
Registration here: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/registration/form.jsp?meeting_id=26822
In the last Afro-IP post, Kingsley wrote about Uganda’s coming ability to manufacture medicines in-country and its plans to maintain the current importation of generics from India and China. Kingsley also mentioned that Uganda is a member of a number of international IP treaties. Uganda is able to manufacture and import generic medicines without violating those international treaties because of the exceptions in TRIPs. Exceptions like these are allowed for all developing countries, but Uganda remains one of the very few taking advantage of them. Why?
This is part of the question explored in Carolyn Deere’s fabulous book The Implementation Game: The TRIPS Agreement and the Global Politics of Intellectual Property Reform in Developing Countries. Little Leo admits she’s a bit behind as this book was published a few years ago, but it is still an excellent read and highly relevant.
Deere explores not only the different manners in which countries implemented TRIPs in their own laws, but also the reasons behind these choices. In the book’s own words, “this book gives substance to the view that developing countries’ policies are often set by others.”
The book concludes that a number of different factors contributed to the economically-strange high level of IP protection put in many local laws when implementing TRIPs. From national politics, to international trade, Deere shows just how many pieces of our global interactions are intertwined in determining IP laws and norms.
One of the highlights of the book is an entire chapter dedicated to Francophone Africa. This is a region often overlooked in English IP writings and Deere does it justice. Unlike many other IP and developing country writings, The Implementation Game doesn’t focus solely on pharmaceuticals or access to medicines. The book covers all forms of IP in TRIPs, although the Francophone Africa chapter does only touch on copyright briefly.
Deere’s predictions in the last chapter are also very interesting to read because of the time that’s passed since the book was published. A few of her predictions are already proving true; others look likely but we’ll have to wait and see. The only slightly negative thing to be said about the book is that the editing isn’t great. There’s a number of typos throughout.
One benefit of Little Leo’s pokiness is that the cheaper ($35.00) and lighter paperback version is now available. Amazon.com also has a Kindle version.Oxford University Press, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-19-955061-6 (hardcover)
Pages: 342, including charts but excluding bibliography.
List Price: US$95
"OverviewKingsley tweets as @IPinAfrica
Uganda is a Contracting Party to a number of treaties on intellectual property, excluding the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. It is also an ARIPO Member State.
Copyright Office
• The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) is the competent office responsible for copyright and related rights in Uganda.
• The website for this office is www.ursb.go.ug
Industrial Property Office
• The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) is the competent office responsible for the administration of intellectual property rights in Uganda.
• The website for this office is www.ursb.go.ug
Social Media Presence
None found.
Intellectual Property update in Uganda
Afro-IP has reported on various developments including those of practical significance in Uganda including here, here, here and here.
On other IP-related news, we learn that Ugandans now have a chance to manufacture essential medicines in their own country rather than have it imported from China or India. This is good news for technology transfer in Africa and should be an area to which all the energy of health-care NGOs should be directed. On the other hand, we also learn that the medicines advisor at the Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS) has urged the Ugandan parliament to ensure the unfettered import of cheaper generics drugs until the capacity to manufacture in Uganda is achieved. This is equally right, provided there is no room for complacency and procrastination.
Finally, Afro-IP often discovers something to remind us of the legal history between the United Kingdom and some of the countries in Africa. This time we now learn that only UK design registrations are automatically extended to Uganda.
Conclusion
Uganda is another ARIPO member but, this time around, we found a live and functional website to comment on. As the name implies, the URSB’s website contains basic information relating to various registrable matters including business assets in Uganda. After the visit, Afro-IP took this recurring gloomy view – since the start of the A-Z tour - that the URSB’s website does not sufficiently cater for IP: for example, though it appears to educate on various IP rights, we only found forms TM1 and TM2 as the only forms for IP available online.
But don’t despair just yet; the URSB is very customer-oriented and it is currently conducting a poll on the quality of the services it has on offer. To participate, just visit the website and you will immediately find this on the right-hand side of the website. We hope you can click on all things IP".
opposing mark |
Opposed mark |
Pic cred here |