WIPO International Seminar on the Strategic Use of Intellectual Property for Economic and Social Development
22 October – 26 October 2007 (Cape Town, South Africa)
Adapted from an article in Buanews
A conference of the World Intellectual Property Organisation on the Strategic Use of Intellectual Property for Economic and Social Development was covened recently in Cape Town, drawing together local and international government officials, regulators, industry players, academics, practitioners and officials.
Most notable about the conference was its focus on the developmental agenda when it comes to protection of intellectual property, and the way indigenous knowledge systems can be harnessed by developing countries to further their mutual development. “What is critical from a developing country perspective is how to use the intellectual property system to promote the availability, the accessibility and the affordability of goods and services that are an invention or creation of the mind, such as patented medicines and copyrighted learning materials,” delegates were told.
Central to this issue in an African context is the need to widen the legislative paradigm of intellectual property ownership beyond that of an individual to a point where entire communities could share the benefits of commercialisation of products that are a result of indigenous knowledge.
Visit the WIPO meeting page…
Read the BuaNews article…
