Sadc, ARIPO sign intellectual property rights MoU

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation have signed a Morandum of Understanding to foster the protection of intellectual property rights on products produced in the region.

Speaking during the signing ceremony in Harare on Tuesday, SADC secretariat executive secretary, Elias Makgosi noted: “We are signing a very important instrument between SADC secretariat and ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation) who are the drivers of intellectual property rights.

“SADC recognises the importance of intellectual property rights and we really protect international property rights in the region and those traditional healers that we have portrayed out there have got the knowledge and expertise that we need to protect and preserve.”

An official from ARIPO, David Njuguna, said his organisation aims to bring the protection of intellectual property rights to a level where it transforms people’s livelihoods in SADC and the continent at large.

“Basically, we are looking that ARIPO working with SADC for capacity building on issues of technical assistance, sharing of information and growing the entrepreneurship,” he said. -ebusinessweekly