ARIPO Magazine Editorial Board
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Vol. 5, No.4, October - December 2015 ARIPO Magazine EDITORIAL BOARD Roselyn Moyo Charles Pundo Administrative Assistant, Head, Formalities Documentation and Examination Section Publications Section Emmanuel Sackey Charles Satumba Chief Examiner, Search Claride Hozheri Assistant Librarian, and Examination Section Documentation and Accounts Clerk, Finance Section Publications Section ON THE COVER REGULARS 02 Editorial Board 02 Contents 03 Editorial 06 04 Highlight of Events Highlights of Events 10 Member States News 13 Staff Matters 15 Feature Articles 19 Member States Contact Details 14 Staff Matters 2 ARIPO MAGAZINE: Vol. 5, No.4,october - December 2015 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITORIAL ARIPO Magazine - Vol. 5, No.4, October - December 2015 Agriculture is the backbone of IP systems lie in areas such make an impact on the economic most African countries. The as biodiversity, agriculture landscape of the continent. The recent Arusha protocol will help traditional knowledge and subject of Trips and Intellectual facilitate ARIPO member states copyright. ARIPO’s role in Property and Public Health was to use the IP system to enhance member states extends beyond brought to the forefront during their agricultural sectors and protection to include facilitating the WTO Ministerial Summit held make it competitive using the utilization, commercialization in Kenya from this conference it regional protection mechanism. and exploitation of IP in its is difficult to overlook the key Use of advanced technologies member states so that they role intellectual Property has will be key to the successful can be competitive in the global played in the investment and implementation of the protocol. arena. provision of treatment for HIV and AIDS the cost of treatment Geographical indications are One key discussion in this has reduced from $15 000 critical for the agricultural sector publication is technology between (2001-2003) to $200 sector for African states and are entrepreneurship and the start- currently in Kenya. The key critical in the value, growth and up competition DEMO Africa. observation here is the strategic competiveness of the African According to a Mickenys study utilisation of TRIPS flexibilities agricultural and cultural sector. in 2010 African labor force for the benefit of a country. These are both key developments is growing more rapidly than for ARIPO as it moves towards anywhere else in the worlds and IP in areas where its member is projected to grow to about 1,1 Copyright © 2015, ARIPO All Rights Reserved states have a strength in. billion by 2040 with an estimated GDP of around $2,6 trillion. This No part of this publication may The global debate on globalization shows the importance of the be reproduced or transmitted trade and intellectual property youth and their catalytic role in in any form or by any means, for developing countries is an transformation for Africa. electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording indication of the critical role of or any information storage the Intellectual property system DEMO Africa is one of the many or retrieval system, without working towards impacting new initiatives tapping into the permission in writing from on the strengths, resources innovative young people of Africa. ARIPO. and capacities of developing It is important to see how youth countries so that they too can in Africa will be incorporated benefit from the intellectual the Intellectual property property system. development agenda through the innovation ecosystem that is To what extent is the system building up in Africa. relevant to the strengths of developing countries? It should This will facilitate tapping into be noted that our strengths as the innovation and technology developing countries with the hubs so that the innovations can ARIPO MAGAZINE: Vol. 5, No.4, October - December 2015 3 HIGHLIGHTS OF EVENTS highlighted some of the future challenges of the plant variety protection raised by the growing push HIGHLIGHTS by some multinationals to protect new varieties of plants through patents, especially fueled by the recent decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) on OF EVENTS the cases of broccoli and tomato. Issues related to bio-technologies and new technologies for the breeding process were also highlighted. Celebrations of the 20 years The President of CPVO, Mr. Martin Ekvad recognized the presence of the Director General of (1995 - 2015) of the Community African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), Dr. Paulin Edou Edou and the Director General of Plant Variety Office (CPVO) African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Fernando dos Santos and highlighted the efforts of implementation of the PVP system at OAPI and the recently adopted Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants by ARIPO. Together with the Director General of OAPI, Dr. Paulin Edou Edou and the Director Industrial of OAPI, Mrs Regine Gazzaro, the Director General of ARIPO also visited CPVO headquarters in Angers. President Ekvad made a short presentation and The main event of the Celebrations of the 20 Years led the visitors on a short tour to the office. CPVO was the Seminar held in October 1, 2015 in Angers, France attended by approximately 200 President Ekvad and the Vice-President Carlos people. Invitees included the Members of the Godinho also accompanied the guests to a visit Administrative Council of CPVO, the European to GEVES, the French Group for the study and Commission, the European Parliament, the evaluation of Varieties and Seeds in the outskirts CPVO Staff Members, the examination offices, of Angers. Officers of GEVES made a presentation breeders and breeders’ organizations, farmers’ on the activities of the organization and organized organizations and international organizations. a tour to their premises and the fields where Distinctness Uniformity and Stability (DUS) and The Seminar was officially open by the EU Value for Cultivation and Use (VCUs) tests are Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Mr. conducted. Vytenis Andriukaitis. Mr. Andriukaitis stressed the importance of the plant variety system and its role The participation of the Director General of in innovation and development of agriculture in ARIPO to the meeting and especially the parallel order to ensure food security and competitiveness. meetings held with CPVO and GEVES opened up He congratulated CPVO for the rapid growth and more opportunities for co-operation. There was a pledged continued support to the organization. further commitment from CPVO to assist ARIPO in the implementation of plant variety system under The Member of the European Parliament and the newly adopted Arusha Protocol. The Head of Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development ICT and Finance of CPVO offered to assist ARIPO Committee, Mr. Czeslaw Siekierski, the Director in the establishment of IT management system of General of WIPO and Secretary General of The plant varieties rights. International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Dr. Francis Gurry, Participation of the Director General of ARIPO in the Director General of (WIPO), the Mayor of this event provided an opportunity to learn more Angers, former President of CPVO, also presented on the latest developments of CPVO and the global congratulatory messages to the organization. trends on the protection of plant varieties and its challenges. Parallel meetings allowed discussion Breeder’s’ rights and farmers’ associations of future co-operation with CPVO and GEVES. 4 ARIPO MAGAZINE: Vol. 5, No.4,october - December 2015 HIGHLIGHTS OF EVENTS Worldwide Symposium On Geographical Indications, Budapest, Hungary In June 2015, WIPO extended to ARIPO an invitation to attend the Worldwide Symposium on the Geographical Indications that was organised, jointly by the WIPO and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO). The conference took place in Budapest, Hungary from October 20 to 22, 2015. ARIPO was represented to by Mr. Pierre Runiga, Legal Officer. The objective of the mission was to take part to the discussions of experts and learn from experiences of participants from jurisdictions that are advanced The techniques and know-how at the Herend manufactory are what in the implementation of the GIs system. make the Herend porcelain unique... (Field Trip at Herend Porcelain Manufactory, on October 22, 2015). To gather further information on a successful registered Geographical Indication the workshop The Symposium was an opportunity for the ARIPO was devoted to a field trip to visit one of non- representative to learn a lot on approaches used agricultural products registered as Geographical by different jurisdictions in using and protecting Indication: the Herend Porcelain Manufactory in Geographical Indications. The experience gained a town of Hungary called Herend. The latter is a is of essence for the implementation of the GI small town but it is famous for its porcelain. It mandate by ARIPO. It was also an opportunity benefits from a protected Geographical Indication to discuss and network with representatives in Hungary and it is also registered under the of relevant organizations which attended the Lisbon Agreement. The Herend porcelain is special Symposium. The experience gained will help because it is a solely hand painted and gilded in implementing the mandate that was given to porcelain. ARIPO Secretariat on Geographical Indications. Trade, Intellectual Property And Migration needed investments. they are faced with supply side