Thursday 29 May 2014

Afro Ng'ombe

International IP Summer-Up-North Programs

Artwork Watch Shop One might say, “better late than never,” or one might say, “darn you Little Leo! This looks great but the notice is too short.”  Let’s hope for the former in this case.  [You can take the lion out of Africa but you can’t take African village time out of the lion?]

An American university, called American University, has teamed up with a variety of scholars, practicing attorneys, WIPO and the WTO to present a summer series of Intellectual Property-focused courses for law students and attorneys alike.  Participant hopefuls can apply for the full set of courses or individual topics.  Two course are taught in Geneva, at WIPO and the WTO, respectively; the rest are in Washington, DC.  The first courses kick off rather soon, on 2 June, but it does look like applications are still being accepted, at least for the later courses.  The Geneva courses do not begin until 1 July.

The conversations in these courses (at least the conversations the organizers of these courses hope they will have) are exactly the kind that can benefit from more African IP voices.  If you’re great with doing things on the fly, and particularly if you’re already near DC or Geneva, it’s worth taking a look at the program.  This is an annual thing, so if you can’t attend this year, you can start planning for next.

Full info is available here: http://www.wcl.american.edu/pijip/go/resources-for-students/summer-session

Courses and dates are as follows:

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Wednesday 28 May 2014

IPcommentator

Official bilateral IP office placement: Can the UK IPO go that far?

No, its not on Afro Leo's territory
This Leo must be an IP technical assistance fanatic to spot this piece in the UK IPO's May newsletter. It reads:

"In April, the IPO hosted a two-day visit for a rising academic from St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. Ms Jihan Williams, a Chevening Scholar (UK Government’s global scholarship scheme) is one of their strongest candidates and is currently studying an LLM in Intellectual Property at Queen Mary University, London. 

Studies aside, Jihan is a lawyer at the Attorney General’s Chambers in Basseterre. Previously, IP functions in St Kitts and Nevis were handled by the High Court Registry, but in 2011 their IP function was made a standalone department, albeit with only three staff. The purpose of her visit was to see how an efficient, established IP office operates and to gain insight into our best practice. The UK also provides technical assistance to developing countries under the TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights).

Jihan met with staff from our International Policy, Innovation, Enforcement, Copyright and Trade Marks directorates as well as with external stakeholders. The key message to Jihan was that awareness is key; if people respect IP they will carry the message further afield."

Commentary

The leafy UK IPO in Newport, better than London?
It is commendable that the UK IPO even granted Ms. Williams the unique opportunity to see the inside of its walls - albeit just for two days. Yes, IP awareness is important, but we also hope Ms Williams learnt  a lot more than that to benefit the IP office in St Kitts and Nevis.

(1) Can this be formalised or extended for the benefit of certain countries, most in need?

This Leo still remembers the two photographs shared by Nicky Garnett (Second Speaker) at the MIP Forum 2014 which go to support his online discoveries on the state of most IP offices across Africa. IP capacity-building is obviously an issue across the continent.

So, should the UK IPO build upon this kind gesture (as assumed) to Ms Williams by formalising it for students from certain African countries? [Afro Leo might set up a poll on this] For this Leo, it may well be that WIPO is largely taking care of assisting developing countries with administration of IPRs, but developed-country WTO members can equally offer the same - not just on IP enforcement training.

(2) How might this idea work in practice?  Assuming the beneficiary requests for the assistance, and is also ready and willing to play its part in the process, below is this Leo's off the cuff suggested structure - which is not the most innovative idea:

(a) Get the relevant government department, responsible for the funding IP office, to sponsor a few of the brightest commercial law students from its leading law school (or current staff within the IP office) to pursue postgraduate IP studies at a reputable IP institute abroad [Yes, the Government of Thailand is very good at this; this Leo's lovely Thai classmates, back then at college/university, were all on scholarships];

(b) Before the student(s) set off abroad, he/she should spend a good one or two months at his/her country's IP office to understand how they operate [Not applicable to staff];

(c) When in the host country  (e.g. the UK), the university (e.g. QMU, London) - who will already have an arrangement in place with the host country's IP office (i.e. the UK IPO) - will, at a scheduled point, allow the student(s) to go on a placement at the UK IPO. Ideally, the placement should, at least, last for a couple of weeks and expose the student(s) to all types of work including appeals. [Fortunately or unfortunately, the UK IPO is based in Newport, South Wales. The hope is that the scholarship will also cover other things such as accommodation]

(d) Having returned to the university, the student may be expected to write a short comparative coursework on his/her experiences;

(e) When the postgraduate programme is complete, the student leaves to, hopefully, join (or rejoin) his/her country's IP office.

Concluding remarks
Essentially, all that is required from the relevant African Government department is to simply provide the funds to its IP office to take it from there with its counterpart and the academic institution abroad. This reduces bureaucracy.

Placement programmes (professional or not) are nothing new to UK universities or any university around the world; thus, emerging difficulties should be easily tackled. Also, other issues such as confidentiality can be equally handled by the host IP office with appropriate measures. To be relevant, the postgraduate programme could include general IPR administration as a module - with a core focus on certain registrable rights such as designs, trade marks and utility models.['Opportunity to offer more specialist courses', Afro Leo whispers]

Source: here
No doubt that the UK IPO is doing its best, under financial constraints, in the area of IP technical assistance. This Leo won't be surprised if this sort of initiative (official or informal) is already going on between the UK IPO and a few countries, or between other countries. [OAPI or ARIPO could've been the appropriate entity to deliver this sort of assistance to African countries. Unfortunately, things are currently fragmented]

To his mind, this idea or something similar would be much more meaningful and probably less expensive than having a developed country send its IP office staff to developing countries to deliver one-day IP awareness seminars etc - something lawyers/experts within most of those countries can handle.

[Afro Leo selfishly thinks that the UK should attempt to lead on this - starting with African countries - in order to keep totting up Afro Leo IP technical assistance points] Hopefully, it doesn't or shouldn't cost a lot (in monetary terms, if any) for the UK IPO to give this a try. Work experience (paid or unpaid) often just require staff with a bit of patience and time to show someone a thing or two.

Ultimately, the curiosity is whether this is feasible and/or too much to ask for.

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To see how far a UK IP owner can stretch its right(s) to St Kitts and Nevis, try here
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Tuesday 27 May 2014

Caroline B Ncube

South Africa: Post elections and a new cabinet - where's the IP Policy?

Pres Zuma announcing the Cabinet 
Now that the elections have come and gone (7 May) and President Zuma has announced his new cabinet ( on 25 May - see infographic here) the country should be ready to return to seeing the IP Policy through. The main protagonists remain in place - Dr Aaron Motsoaledi retained his position in the Department of  Health and Dr Rob Davies has also retained his portfolio in the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI).



The DTI is the lead department in IP matters and has primary responsibility for the draft IP Policy. David Cochrane reported (here) that the DTI held a consultative workshop on the IP policy for legal practitioners on 9 October 2013 and then indefinitely postponed a subsequent workshop which would have been open to all stakeholders which was planned for 15 October 2013. Perhaps one of the first things the department will now do is to finally hold this workshop. As Afro-IP readers know, Dr Motsoaledi, has had a lot to say about the draft IP Policy's proposed patent law reforms in the context of health and treatment access (For example, see here and here). His stance on these matters is a matter of public record.

There are some changes in  the IP related departments of Science & Technology (DST) and Arts & Culture (DAC). Mr Derek Hanekom, who was the Minister of Science & Technology from 2012 - 2014 has been replaced with Naledi Pandor (who held this portfolio from May 2009 - October 2012).  During her previous stint at Science & Technology, Minister Pandor had oversight over the creation of the National IP Management Office and before that the Technology Innovation Agency. The DST was also involved in IP training via the WIPO Summer Schools. It also created a number of research chairs at universities. (For details see her budget vote 2011 here) All of these activities are directly impacted by IP. Indeed, the IPRs from Publicly Funded Research Act, 2008 was spearheaded by the DST (see here and here for an overview of the Act).

The new Minister of Arts & Culture is Mr Nathi Mthethwa (who was previously the Minister of Police). He replaces Mr Paul Mashatile. This department's Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture & Heritage released in June 2013 (available here) states that " Issues of patent and copyrights will be addressed in the light of current information technology. For example music can be downloaded from the Internet for free resulting in artists losing revenue. DAC will therefore ensure that there is an updated legislation on Intellectual Property Rights" (at p56).  Last year the DAC co-hosted a Consultative workshop on IP and the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances with the University of Cape Town's IP Unit in Cape Town  (see here).Clearly the department is active and intends to be involved in IP law reforms. It remains to be seen what the new Minister will have to say about the draft IP Policy.

It is probable (and should be mandatory, in this Leo's opinion) that each of the above related departments has submitted their comments on the draft IP policy. Once the comments received by the DTI on the draft policy are made public (as they should, says this Leo) we will have an opportunity to view the official position taken by the Department of Health, DST and DAC. 
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Afro Leo

Tunisia croons, OAPI prepares but Madrid is still questionable in Africa

MIP's Group Editor Emma Barraclough provides some feedback on Tunisia's experience since joining the Madrid System and quotes Maurice Batanga's (OAPI) vision of OAPI acceding by the end of the year. 

According to Emma's note, Tunisia is merry over their 7% growth rate in trade mark filings since joining Madrid whilst OAPI is busy changing forms and updating manuals for its expected accession.

Emma's article entitled "Africa gears up for Madrid" explains why ARIPO, the "english" regional system is unlikely to join as a region because of the similarities it has with the Madrid designation system; it would be more practical for each member state to join Madrid. This writer suggests that this creates doubt on the long term effectiveness of ARIPO for trade marks, if Madrid continues the pace of accession.

For the 17 OAPI member states joining Madrid now seems inevitable. They would rub shoulders with 18 other Africa states who have already acceded. These are Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia, and Zambia, with Zimbabwe and South Africa still teetering.

With potentially 70% of Africa forming part of Madrid by year end, it would be easy to conclude that Madrid be the filing destination of choice for brand owners seeking to cover the continent. Unfortunately though, ticking boxes on the WIPO trade mark form needs to be considered very carefully. 

Many of the Registries are simply not up to the task of effectively implementing WIPO procedures or local laws have not domesticated their government's decision to join Madrid. Both shortcomings create doubt on the validity and effectiveness of Madrid filings and it is not uncommon for brand owners to ignore Madrid advantages and file nationally. 

This blogger has had first hand experience of a Zambian trade mark lawyer advising that an international designation of a client covering Zambia was unlikely to be given effect, which then became significant problem because of this Supreme Court decision refusing to recognise user rights in an opposition in Zambia. The result forced the client to consider paying off the infringer. 

Just yesterday, a prominent Kenyan lawyer explained that following Kenya's accession, Madrid filings spiked but because of delays at the Registry dealing with Madrid applications/registrations, the trend has now reversed and national filings are more popular.

OAPI
Stephen Hollis, an African trade mark guru explains that in countries such as Algeria, Mozambique, Madagascar, Sudan and Sao Tome & Principe and Morocco, the Madrid system may be regarded as more likely to be given effect than in other states - mainly because of their civil law heritage or domestication laws/decisions.

OAPI is one of Africa's more successful registries and hence more likely to be a safe haven for Madrid exponents. However, those expecting to use Madrid for cheap African coverage generally should first take care to properly examine the status of the right in each state before filling out the WIPO form. An alternative is to supplement Madrid filings in key territories with national filings, to hedge against the risk of non recognition of international designations.
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Monday 26 May 2014

Jeremy

Chinese agree to dismantle fake replica Sphinx


Via Ron Yu (thanks, Ron!) we have received news of an affront to Egypt's avowed policy (see earlier Afro-IP post here) on the protection of its most celebrated cultural assets -- including the Great Sphinx of Giza. A giant replica of the Sphinx has been erected in China, in the Shijiazhuang district of Hebei.  Measuring 60 x 20 metres, this replica resulted in Egypt filing a complaint to UNESCO against China. The complaint asserts that the reproduction is inaccurate -- which could actually work to China's benefit in that the Egyptian law (which does not apply in China) only sought to address exact likenesses.

There has been a sequel.  The Chinese authorities are now reported to have agreed to destroy the replica which, mysteriously has in this report grown to 80 x 30 metres.
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IPcommentator

Monday safaris

Nigeria: COSON talks peace
Remember last January's guest post by Olumayowa O. Adesanya which looked beyond the wrangling between COSON, and BON/IBAN? This Leo now understands that the end is or maybe in sight for the CRISIS. [Says Afro Leo, about time, no more chaos! He also knows that COSON is really working hard to let the music pay, and wishes they do their best to keep it that way. If talks get heated, COSON and co might consider some soothing music by the captivating Njabulo Madlala - especially, track 23]

This Leo is left wondering: considering the economic potential of Nigeria's entertainment industry, is it worthwhile exploring an independent alternative dispute resolution service or even, establishing a copyright tribunal? Maybe something exists; will be good to know. 

PIIPA Survey for the Future 2014
Public Interest Intellectual Property AdvisorsAfro-IP is pleased to spread the word that PIIPA is seeking your input on how it should strategically plan its future, see PIIPA’s March 2014 newsletter. They're counting on you; so please spare a few minutes to complete the survey, anonymously if you like, by Wednesday, 28 May. 

Sierra Leone: ARIPO on a mission
According to this news report, ARIPO held a three-day round-table conference titled, “Making Better use of Intellectual Property for Business Competitiveness and Development in Africa". The event is said to have attracted several personalities including government ministers, members of the business community, artistes, other senior government officials as well as experts and inventors. Its aim was to promote the use of IP through awareness raising and the promotion of innovation. 

South Africa: Exchange Control and IP
TechCentral reports that South African technology companies can meaningfully engage in offshore IP transfer as the Exchange Control Regulations have now been relaxed. Chris Bull, IP director at ENSafrica, explains in the report: “...In essence, the guidance from the South African Reserve Bank is that it will allow private companies operating in these sectors to seek approval for a primary listing offshore or to raise capital and loans offshore on the back of their IP assets...” 

This Leo isn't sure if this news is current or old, neither could he find any official confirmation; however, he tracked something here. Afro-IP has posted on this matter, first in 2009 (with an explanation on how it works in licensing) and subsequently (here, here and here). Surely, anything to help South African companies exploit their IP sounds like good news to the IP community. This news reminds this Leo of Pfizer's recent takeover bid for AstraZeneca - which commentators mention the UK's Patent Box regime as one of the factors behind the bid. [Though there is a debate (e.g. here, here and here) on whether the regime encourages more innovation from SMEs

South Africa II: Propanc's patent application granted 
Although there are many more that we don't often hear about (not that we need to as it won't surprise anyone), this Leo has picked out from MarketWatch's article that Propanc has already obtained a South African patent for its latest endeavours in cancer treatment. A little dig around its website tells us, among others, that, Propanc is building an IP portfolio (which it co-owns with the University of Bath) around our scientific understanding of the effects of proenzymes in cancer, identifying new formulations, new routes of administration and potential new therapeutic targets.

The company is also looking at building much-needed credibility within the scientific community. To see the UK IPO's guide to IP in R&D and knowledge transfer activities between companies and publicly-funded research organisations (e.g. universities), see here; for University of Bath's IP policy, is here.

Events you might be interested in:
(1) Uganda
Arbitration looks like it's on the rise and rise across the African continent - thanks to those who do not wish to get bogged down by the arduous civil justice system, among other reasons. The IT/telecoms industry in Africa is growing and IP arbitration might soon become common. Anyway, if you're in Kampala, Uganda, from 13 - 14 June, there is a conference on international commercial arbitration. More details can be found here

(2) UK
For those in the UK, the Law Society's International Division tells us that there is an upcoming event titled, 'Global African Investment Summit'. This event will feature four African Heads of State as well as ministers and business leaders from various sectors.
Date: 20th and 21st of October 2014 
Venue: The Savoy London,
For more information, visit here.


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