WIPO-ARIPO Sub-Regional Training of Trainers

Program on Effective Intellectual Property Asset

Management by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
(SMEs)
Introduction to WIPO and its Development
Cooperation Activities in African Countries

Harare, Zimbabwe
October, 2014
 Contents

WIPO’s Development Sector

Africa Innovation Landscape
WIPO’s TA Programs
Conclusion

2
Development – Strategic Goal III Facilitating
the use of IP for Development
The Organization’s Development
cooperation program continues to be
guided by a strategic needs- based
approach, organized around four main
themes- the development of national IP
and innovation strategies; the
development or up-dating of legal and
institutional frameworks; the
development of infrastructure, usually
office automation and modernization
programs and capacity building,
2011 WIPO General Assembly- DG’s Report
 African Countries
(Department for Africa and Special Projects (AB), Arab Bureau, the Academy, Division for LDCs)

34-LDCs
Angola, Benin,
Burkina Faso,
Burundi, Cape
Verde, Central
African Rep, Chad,
Comoros, DRC,
Djibouti, Equatorial
Guinea, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Gambia,
Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Lesotho,
Liberia,
Madagascar,
Malawi, Mali,
Mauritania, Niger,
Rwanda, Sao
Tome & Principe,
Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Somalia,
South Sudan,
Sudan, Tanzania,
Togo, Uganda,
Zambia
NATURAL RESOURCES
GII 2014 rankings – Top 3 per region
and per income group

7
 9

IP indicators in relation to DCs/LDCs

Low level of patenting by residents

Relatively higher use of the Utility Model system
to protect inventions in domestic markets
Low level of R&D spending
While high-income countries still dominate
global R&D spending, low and middle income
economies increased their share of global R&D
by 13% between 1993 and 2009
 Narrowing the Knowledge Gap

Using innovation and creativity for development ?

What are the contributions of WIPO to narrow the

knowledge gap to use innovation and creativity for
development?
 11

DS : Facilitate the use of IP for development

Clearly defined and coherent national IP strategies that

support national development goals
Advice to MS to develop tailored and balanced IP
legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks
Enhanced infrastructure/business systems for IP
offices and other institutions; enhanced access to, and
use of, IP information and knowledge to promote
innovation and creativity
Enhanced IP-related skills for the effective use of IP for
development through workshops, seminars and WIPO
Academy courses
+ DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
Skills Development & Capacity Building
Partnerships- Governments, IGOs, Regional, Inter-regional Orgs.

Beneficiaries:

• Policy makers,
• Government officials,
• Academia, researchers and professionals engaged in
science and technology (e.g. agriculture, energy,
environment, health, manufacturing etc.),
• IP lawyers and practitioners,
• Entrepreneurs, business and industry representatives.

Systematic Training Programs. Japan FIT with Japan, France, Italy

, Brazil or partnership e.g. Sweden (Sida-WIPO)
Skills Development & Capacity Building

WIPO ACADEMY Programs

Distance Learning Programs (in 7 langs)
• Professional Training(The program is carried out in
cooperation with governments and specialized institutions. )
• WIPO Summer Schools in IP (2012-Croatia, Korea,
Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, USA, Mexico, South Africa)
• Start up Academies(DA Project :Objectives WIPO, through the
WIPO Academy, to assist beneficiary Member States in the establishment of national IP
Academies during an initial period of two years)
Distance Learning Courses

General Courses
DL-001 Introduction on Intellectual Property
DL-101 General Course on Intellectual Property
PCT Distance Learning Course: Introduction to the Patent Cooperation
Treaty
Advanced Courses
DL-202 Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property
DL-204 Biotechnology and Intellectual Property
DL-301 Patents
DL-302 Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications
DL-318 Patent Information Search
DL-320 Basics of Patent Drafting
DL-401 Managing Intellectual Property in the Book Publishing Industry
DL-450 Intellectual Property Management
TISC Project

Access to: More than 35 000

More than 80 million scientific publications
technical solutions online (13 000 articles
(patent documents) in all and 22 000 e-books
fields of technology published within the
housed in free framework of the UN
databases including
international, regional & Programs called
national) and in 5 Research for Life:
commercial databases HINARI (WHO), AGORA
(owned by partners of (FAO), OARE (UNEP),
WIPO -ASPI Program) ARDI (WIPO)
 16

WIPO development work in action…

IP and Branding for Development:

Some project experiences

The Goals
• support local groups of
Business
development farmers and producers to use
of IP for product branding

Socio-
economic
• improve the lifestyles of
development rural communities
IP and
branding for
development
• strengthen the IP
Institutional
development management capacities of
national institutions

• improve skills, knowledge

Awareness and perceptions among
raising
stakeholders and broader
business community
The untold stories…
Ethiopian coffee

Context prior to IP strategy

The untold stories…
Ethiopian coffee (cont.)

Ethiopian IP Office strategy:

The untold stories…
Uganda West Nile cotton
The untold stories…
Mukono vanilla (Uganda)
The untold stories...
Mukono vanilla (cont.)

Price distribution

Sold by retailers at ~ $352/kg

Sold by farmers at ~ 8$/kg
The process

Strategy
Implementation
Development
of appropriate
Capacity branding and
building protection
workshops strategies
Identification for all key
of key stakeholders
stakeholders

Identification
and
mapping of
products
 Implementation
Sustainability
6. All levels: grassroots; 1. National IP strategy;
government; market; Sector Policies
consumers

6. Awareness 1.Public policy

raising

2. Stakeholders
5. Impact
5. Criteria; Indicators; buy-in and 2. Community ownership
assessment
coordination
long term monitoring and business leadership

4. Quality 3. Capacity
control system building

4. Internal and external 3. Strengthening the human

and certifications resources ecosystem

Scalability
 Appropriate technology

Building LDCs’ knowledge base on how to

Make use of the IP system to facilitate transfer ,
adaptation and use of appropriate technology.

In 2014 WIPO successfully completed the Transfer of

Technolgy in three pilot LDCs namely:

• Bangladesh,
• Nepal, and
• Zambia.
 Appropriate technology

•Application by the Country

•Review of Application
•Participation Agreement to clarifying the obligations of
each Party.
•Establishing a National Expert Group (NEG)
•Chairman of NEG
•National and International Experts.
 Appropriate technology

• Needs Areas WIPO will support NEG to identify several

needs areas
• Prioritize one or two need areas.
• Prepare Search Request:
• Prepare Search Report: to prepare the finding of Patent
Information Search undertaken for the identified project.
• Formulate TOR Technology Landscape
 Appropriate technology

•Prepare Technology Landscape .

•Approve the Landscape Report:
•Business Plan:
•Outreach Program:.
•External Evaluation:
Challenges

Lack of political will – elaboration of IP Policy and

Strategies ( Awareness of Senior Policy makers, )
IP Legislations - ( WIPO provides advisory & technical
assistance)
Lack of IP Skills - ( Capacity building and skills
development programs)
Lack of resources/funding ( Need for governments to put
in place Innovation and Technology Funds , put more
funding in R&Ds etc
Thank you for your kind attention

Joyce C. Banya
Senior Counsellor , Regional Bureau for Africa

joyce.banya@wipo.int