By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
Communication plays a significant role in building respect and awareness of intellectual property rights, AfrIPI official has said.
In her opening remarks at the three-day training on Wednesday, AfrIPI Project Leader Ms Aida Galindo, said communication was vital for the public to understand the importance and impact of intellectual property in their daily lives.
“Without effective communication, some important sectors of the business sector, such as SMEs, innovation hubs, and Research & Development institutions, will not readily be aware of intellectual property rights and how these rights can benefit their businesses and sustainably sustain their national economies.
“Counterfeit products, for example, can threaten consumers’ health and, in some cases, lives.
“Serious dangers have been linked to counterfeit products ingested by consumers (food, drink, medicines) or put directly on the skin (cosmetics, fragrances),” she said.
“People in the creative sector, such as artists and designers, are also affected by infringers who claim ownership of their work that is not protected, for instance.”
The training aims to promote effective communication of intellectual property in ARIPO Member and Observer States.
The Communications Training is being held in Harare in collaboration with ARIPO on the ARIPO Regional Intellectual Property Rights System.
“This collaboration on IP activities is aligned with the common objective of AfrIPI and ARIPO, which is to build respect and awareness of intellectual property rights in Africa.
“Nevetheless, even if we do great things as public administrators, it is for the communicators to help everyone know what is going on,” Ms Galindo said.
AfrIPI is a pan-African intellectual property rights and innovation project that is funded and directed by the European Union (EU) and jointly funded and implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
It runs from February 2020 to February 2025. The AfrIPI project covers 54 countries in Africa and was allocated a budget of EUR 17 million.
AfrIPI aims to boost the African economy and foster trade between Europe and Africa.
To achieve this objective, AfrIPI’s work is divided into four components.
- The activities of the first component promote international IP rights and the IP Chapter negotiations under the African Free Trade Area Agreement.
- The activities of the second component aim to strengthen national and regional intellectual property institutions, networks, and tools. Today a presentation about the EUIPO tools will be given by Mr Grey Njowola. These tools are part of this component.
- The third component aims to strengthen the capacities of the productive sectors of IP. This is done by raising awareness of intellectual property and its opportunities in different sectors of society. Additionally, this component makes SMEs aware of the advantages that IP can bring to their businesses. This training activity, for instance, is carried out under this component, as well as the Africa IP SME Helpdesk, which will be presented tomorrow.
The activities of the fourth component lend support to the African Union’s Continental Strategy for Geographical Indications, more commonly referred to as GIs.
GIs are local products that obtain their characteristics by being produced in a specific geographical area and can boost the local economy when properly exploited and protected.
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