March 15, 2024
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) organized the meeting in collaboration with the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) with the financial support from the Funds-In-Trust Japan Industrial Property Global in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on September 28 and 29, 2023.
The purpose of this regional meeting was to establish the foundation for a regional TISC network among OAPI member states as a means for fostering exchange of experiences and best practices and sharing resources within the region and to initiate and discuss steps in implementing the action plan for establishing an OAPI regional TISC network.
This meeting was the very first WIPO regional meeting for OAPI member states to share their experience and discuss issues regarding the establishment of a regional TISC network. The meeting was opened by Mr. Mondésir Oualou Panoualou, Deputy Director General of the African Intellectual Property Organization, Mr. Andrew Czajkowski, Director, Technology and Innovation Support Division, IP for Innovators Department, IP and Innovation Ecosystem Sector, on behalf of WIPO, and Ms. Airi Sugimoto, Attaché Economic Cooperation, Embassy of Japan in Cameroon.
Of the 17 member states of OAPI, 14 have signed Service Level Agreements with WIPO and have established national TISC networks that are already operational in their countries.
As regards participants in the meeting, 16 national TISC focal points and officials from 14 OAPI member states countries participated from: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Togo.
Discussions in the meeting focused on member state experience and challenges, which could be shared and resolved on a regional basis with the support of other member states, OAPI and WIPO. Further discussions also focused on specific areas which could be developed and reinforced on a regional level, namely: (i) awareness raising; (ii) capacity development; (iii) infrastructure and resources development; (iv) IP policies’ promotion and integration in TISC host institutions; and (v) governance. Based on these discussions, participants discussed a draft roadmap for the establishment and development of a regional TISC network for OAPI member states.