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At the request of the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been providing technical assistance to the country in the elaboration of a National Intellectual Property Development Plan (IPDP). As a first step in this process, WIPO engaged the services of Mrs. Rose Mboya, Director, IP Division, Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI), and Mr. Rosario Kamanga, Senior Licensing Officer, Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) to carry out a needs assessment mission from October 18 to 28, 2010. The main objective of their mission was to assess the existing IP system in Lesotho, identify weaknesses and make concrete proposals with specific strategies and project-based activities for implementation within the IPDP.
The outcome of this mission is captured in the final report of the IP needs evaluation which was shared with the authorities in Lesotho. Subsequently, after further consultations with the officials from the IP Office, it was noted that there was need to include additional features in the proposed IPDP, namely an executive summary of the report, a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) scheme and an IP strategy road map that would be elaborated on the basis of the needs assessment report. It is also proposed that the IP strategy and the M&E scheme be presented to a national stakeholders meeting for their consideration and subsequent validation.
On December 10, 2013, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Lesotho in Geneva wrote to the Director General (see attached letter) raising among other issues the need for WIPO to provide assistance for the development of a national IP policy and strategy. In response to this and following consultations between officials of the Regional Bureau for Africa, Division for Least Developed Countries and the IP Office, it is now proposed to organize the National Intellectual Property (IP) Workshop on the Strategic Use of IP for Technological Capaci |