Property rights policy draws experts reaction

Dr Eliamani Laltaika

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What you need to know:

  • He said although the East African Community (EAC) launched its latest industrialisation strategy only last year, he was still wondering how effective it has been.

Arusha. The proposed Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy in East African would benefit the bloc if it can spur industrial growth, experts have said.

“Without vibrant industries, I don’t see how the policy will benefit the region,” said Simon Mapolu, an economist with ADM International Consultants based in Arusha.

He said although the East African Community (EAC) launched its latest industrialisation strategy only last year, he was still wondering how effective it has been.

“The IPR policy for the region should, among other things, safeguard the our industrial products in terms of patents and trademarks,” he explained. A senior law lecturer with the Arusha-based Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Dr Eliamani Laltaika, lauded the move, saying it was timely. “EAC needs not only the IPR, but also purposeful harmonisation of the existing intellectual property laws among its six partner states,” he told The Citizen yesterday.

He said given the low level of awareness of IP in the region, more efforts should be made to reach out the civil society networks for inclusivity. “The new policy should take into consideration that many countries were signatories to international agreements such as the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS),” he added.

Dr Eliamani, who is an expert in IPR laws, stressed the universities and institutions of higher learning in the region should be fully engaged in the process.

The EAC announced last week that it had started a process to develop the regional IPR policy to stimulate innovation and promote the advancement of science and technology.

The new policy is also intended to promote the industrial and commercial use of technical inventions and innovations for socioeconomic growth.

These are to include patents in research and development and trade marks and industrial designs as tools for branding and value additions, among others.

The Kigali-based East African Science and Technology Commission (Easteco) will coordinate the exercise and has already engaged consultants for the task. “The overall objective is to create a dynamic, vibrant and balanced IPR system that would also stimulate innovations,” said Easteco executive secretary Gertrude Ngabirano.

Intellectual property rights are like any other property right. They allow creators, or owners, of patents, trademarks or copyrighted works to benefit from their own work or investment in a creation. These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions. The importance of intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)