The Gambia ratifies ARIPO's Swakopmund Protocol

The Gambia ratifies ARIPO's Swakopmund Protocol

By IPcommentator   Monday, September 08, 2014   No comments:

It kind of feels really nice like donkey’s years since this Leo wrote a blog post! There’s no better way to get back into the groove than with some good news from the smallest mainland country in Africa. 

Following on from Darren’s post, which informed us that The Gambia is keen on protecting traditional knowledge and folklore ('TK') for the benefit of its valuable tourism industry, this Leo understands that The Gambia has put its money where its mouth is by ratifying the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore (ARIPO). Read all about it, as reported by The Standard, here. 

Readers may also wish to take note of what the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of The Gambia said at the inaugural event of ARIPO’s IP roadshow seminar held in Banjul, The Gambia, last August. According to ARIPO’s press release: 

“…Hon. Justice Mama Fatima Singhateh highlighted the most significant achievements of the IP Office in the country namely the clearance of a backlog, [This is brilliant news! See Afro-IP’s post in 2012 which told us that they were working on it] the inclusion of IP in the National Science and Technology Policy and the drafting of the IP Policy and Strategy. [On which see Caroline’s report on IP policy in The Gambia here] Hon. Singhateh also indicated that the Government took the conscious decision of joining the Madrid System on Marks and is following up on latest developments on the Banjul Protocol reforms and the text of the Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore in order to consider accession.”[Talk about persuasion and conversion! Well done, ARIPO]

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Further reading
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A primer on ARIPO’s TK protection regime is here

Afro-IP summarises the TK discussions at the 2013 Africa IP Forum here

India and WIPO partner to protect TK here

A report published by the UN on indigenous peoples is here (for IP rights & TK, see pp. 64 – 77)

The British Monarchy’s commercial value is protected under various laws, and in the world of advertising (As Darren mentioned in his post referenced above)

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Africa's smallest country promotes IP

Africa's smallest country promotes IP

By Afro Leo   Tuesday, August 26, 2014   No comments:

Joof

AllAfrica brings news of The Gambia's commitment to intellectual property protection following a road show initiative by ARIPO's Mr Dos Santos that is taking place over the next two years. .

Quoting from the article penned by Yunus Sailu:

"PS Momodou C. Joof was speaking recently at the opening ceremony of the National Roving Seminar on making better use of intellectual property for business competitiveness and development in Africa."

....

"Further in his remarks, the permanent secretary defined folklore as 'the literary, artistic and scientific work belonging to the cultural heritage of The Gambia, which are created, preserved and developed by ethnic communities of the country or by unidentified Gambian authors. Thus, he noted, the tangible and intangible aspects of Gambians folklore thus deserve protection.

"It is indeed obvious that what makes the tourist product unique are those aspects of cultural heritage which are distinctly Gambian; be they cuisine, costume, customs or carvings, or music and masquerades," he stated. "Our dances, songs, praise songs, traditional musical instruments, stories, legends and fables are other aspects of our folklore which make The Gambia a unique tourist attraction".

PS Joof informed that the NCAC, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, has under its custody over 6, 000 audio and video recordings dating to five decades on various aspects of Gambian traditional songs, performances, genealogies, linguistics and similar folklore materials. He described these materials as invaluable assets of folklore, which the Swakupmond Protocol seeks to protect when it is ratified.""

The Gambia, known in IP circles for the naming of the Banjul Protocol and more recently for its withdrawal from the Commonwealth (denouncing neo colonialism), is clearly seeing IP as means of protecting one its major economic assets, tourism. And so it should, the British Monarchy, for example, uses IP to protect its own national heritage in much the same way.

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A review of African official IP websites: no. 21: The Gambia

A review of African official IP websites: no. 21: The Gambia

By Anonymous   Monday, December 03, 2012   No comments:

Last year, this blog reported on the non-existent web presence of the Gambia intellectual property (IP) office as well as the optimism that IP matters are being considered by its government. Twelve months on, things are still the same: no web presence and further deliberation on the necessary IP policies including starting a collecting society. Given the two conditions: non-existent web presence and deliberation on IP policies, which one do you think Afro Leo would prefer to see? The latter, of course.

Access to medicine: a new approach?

On other news, this Leo has picked up this report that the pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), has decided to allow generic drug companies to manufacture and distribute one of its best selling patented drugs, PREZISTA® (darunavir) in African countries and other least-developed countries for the benefit of HIV patients. Paul Stoffels, Scientific Officer and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement, “We are pleased to take this significant step toward bringing our  innovations to meaningfully impact the health of people living with HIV and enhance access to our medicines for those in need. As part of this commitment, we believe that an effective access strategy includes responsible intellectual property management and that intellectual property should not be a barrier to ensuring a sustainable supply of medically acceptable darunavir in the world’s poorest countries.” (Press release on 29th November; World Aids Day on 1 December; good timing, says Afro Leo).

The statement further clarifies, "Under this policy Janssen will not enforce its darunavir patent rights, provided the generic versions of darunavir produced or supplied by generic manufacturers are quality, medically acceptable, and used only in the defined territory. Manufacturers are still responsible for obtaining permissions from other darunavir patent holders and health authorities where appropriate.  Janssen will continue to ensure the availability and appropriate use of PREZISTA® in SSA and LDCs through its existing licensing agreement and partnerships."(Please be aware that nothing comes for free, says Afro Leo)

This Leo applauds this initiative by J&J and feels that perhaps, it may mitigate the company's stance not to join the patent pool. It is also quite interesting that J&J is open about the fact that IP can, in some instances, be a barrier to the access to certain essential medicines. (This is the sort of news that makes Afro Leo wonder whether there should be more focus or energy on lobbying pharmaceutical giants to change their ways - not forgetting  to ensure African countries utilise inherent flexibilities in IP laws).

What do readers think of J&J's new policy? Ultimately, does it go far enough?
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US FDA rejects but later accepts J&J's new 800mg PREZISTA® (darunavir), see here and here 

J&J recalls HIV/AIDS medicine PREZISTA® (darunavir) in 2011, see here

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