Delegation from the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Intellectual Property Organisation discusses Intellectual Property
July 01, 2019
The need for an effective system or mechanism in place locally to collect royalties, increased awareness on Intellectual Property, IP, and capacity building are some areas of discussions during a courtesy visit by a delegation from the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO to the Minister for Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning, Maurice Loustau Lalanne. Also present at the meeting was the Registrar General, Mrs Wendy Pierre.
The aim of their visit is to raise awareness on IP, share WIPO and ARIPO mandates on IP, share WIPO’s technical cooperation tools for development, present findings of the 2017 review of the Implementation of Intellectual Property Development Plan, consult with various IP stakeholders in how best to implement IP laws and to establish a status quo of intellectual property in Seychelles and way forward.
The delegation is comprised of Mr. Fernando dos Santos, Director General, African Regional Organization (ARIPO), Ms. Julieta Nhane, Program Officer, Regional Bureau for Africa, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Mr. Getachew Mengistie, Intellectual Property Law Consultant and Attorney.
Mrs Pierre said that entrepreneurs need to protect their businesses, they need to protect whatever they are creating through a trade mark. This is what we need from WIPO, technical assistance to build local capacity. "Whlist we have all the necessary laws and regulations, we still lack people with the right expertise, we need to increase education and awareness on IP", explained Mrs Pierre. "Let us keep the added value of our local products here in Seychelles", she says.
ARIPO and WIPO have signed a tripartite agreement to better collaborate and assist countries in Africa. Both parties agreed that Seychelles needs to have a system that works to be able to help the people and protects their assets.
Seychelles is a member of WIPO and in its last meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved Seychelles membership into ARIPO.