Promotion of intellectual property assets development and their commercialization
Geographical Indications Project
Protection of trademarks and geographical indications is another area of great potential for generating income and improving access by African countries to global markets. In this respect, WIPO has intensified sensitization of countries on the importance of protecting geographical indications for the commercial exploitation of African products and increasing their access to export markets. A pilot project has been developed in some African countries to demonstrate the utilization of geographical indications for promoting agricultural products and crafts.
The project is in its pilot phase in four countries, namely: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, and should be extended to other countries in the near future.
Copyright Licensing
Copyright licensing is an important example of the commercialization of intellectual property assets and a valuable means of wealth creation. The Africa Bureau has therefore focused on capacity building in this area. To this end, a training program on intellectual property rights, licensing and marketing of musical works was organized during which models of contractual agreements for various types of exploitation of musical works were presented and discussed at the Subregional Workshop on Licensing which was held in Lilongwe, Malawi, from November 8 to 10,2004.
Analytical Report on Intellectual Property and SMEs
The study includes an analysis of the present level of awareness and use of the intellectual property (IP) system by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Republic of Tanzania. It examines the level of integration of intellectual property in SMEs' business strategies, their practices in management of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and in the leveraging of IPRs for enhancing profitability, competitiveness and growth, and highlights some success stories. The study also analyzes the access by SMEs to publicly and privately funded research, and the demand for, and use of, business development services. It makes recommendations on a strategy whereby the intellectual property system is used to foster the competitiveness of SMEs.
