Following an outcry by international civil society about the organisation and programme for the upcoming Africa IP Forum (see details below), individuals that had registered to attend the meeting received notice that the Forum has been postponed. TAC received the email posted below on 24 February:

“Dear Delegates,

The Africa Intellectual Property Forum organizers would like to thank you again for your interest in this event, originally slated for April 3-5, 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Africa IP Forum will be rescheduled. Organizers are committed to ensuring that all stakeholders – in government, private business, the arts and the development community – are represented and engaged in the conference organization and agenda. We apologize for any travel and scheduling inconveniences these unforeseen developments may cause you. We hope that you will remain interested in attending the program at a later date. We will reach out to you as soon as we have a new date; however, please continue to check the program web site (www.cldp.doc.gov) for future details concerning the rescheduling.

Kind regards,        

Africa IP Forum Team”

We will continue to monitor any developments and provide updates on this blog about the programme and new dates for the Forum.