Register for the IP Researchers' Conference (South Africa) - The IP and IT Innovation Interface

As some readers of this blog may know, Afro-IP blogger and Professor of Law at the University of Cape Town, Caroline Ncube was awarded the inaugural South African Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Development at UCT.

Under the auspices of her Chair, Caroline is co-hosting the 3rd Annual Conference of the South African Association of Intellectual Property Law and Information Technology Law Teachers and Researchers (AIPLITL) on 1 - 2 July 2019. The other co-host for the Conference is the Intellectual Property Unit (IP Unit) also at UCT.

The theme this year is The IP and IT Innovation Interface. The Conference promises to be a perfect blend of insights from IP and IT law researchers, practitioners and teachers. Topics to be discussed include:

• The international architecture of the protection of indigenous knowledge.
• State use provisions for patent and expropriation law.
• Multilingualism as a road to non-racialism: how copyright paves the way.
• An update on IP policy developments in South Africa - carving a greater role for academia.
• Legal-related aspects of 3D printing and food manufacturing in Nigeria.
• Designs law and decentralised manufacturing: Issues, concerns, and realities.
• Looking to competition law's domain for an equitable balance between incentivising creativity and promoting access under South Africa's copyright regime.
• The protection of IP rights through blockchain technology: fiction or fruition.
• using music recognition technologies in monitoring music plays in broadcasting stations in Africa: A case of Malawi.
• IP, internet and the right to economic freedom
• Legal aspects of information as a corporate asset

The conference will hold at the Oliver Tambo Moot Court, Faculty of Law, UCT. The speakers and moderators at the conference include both local (South Africa) and international researchers, government officials and industry practitioners including:

• Dr. McLean Sibanda, The Bigen Group
• Professor Steve Cornelius, University of Pretoria
• Dr. Yonah Seleti, Department of Science and Technology
• Professor Veit Erlmann, University of Texas (Austin)
• Marumo Nkomo, Department of Trade and Industry
• A/Professor Tobias Schonwetter, University of Cape Town
• Professor Sunelle Geyer, UNISA
• Dr. Joelle Nwabueze, Bern University
• A/Professor Lee-Ann Tong, University of Cape Town
• Professor Coenraad Visser, UNISA

You can read through the detailed program here.

registration for the conference has been on-going and ends 21st June 2019. However, readers of this blog may still register until 27th June 2019 by sending an email to SARChI-IP@uct.ac.za with the subject: AFRO-IP READER.

Follow the conference on Twitter @aiplitl2019 with the hashtag #AIPLITL2019.