Civil society responds to the push by US and others to expand IP protections and enforcement through Africa IP Summit in Cape Town
From 3 – 5 April, the Africa Intellectual Property Forum: Intellectual Property, Regional Integration and Economic Growth in Africa (‘the Africa IP Summit’) will be held at the International Convention Center in Cape Town.
Activists from across the developing world have expressed alarm at the event. The draft agenda for the Summit convenes sessions on expanding intellectual property protection and enforcement in Africa, largely ignoring the critical issues of health and development and the often harmful role that intellectual property can play.
The concerns of civil society are laid out in a letter to Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, signed by 100 NGOs and academics which can be read here
Additional commentary on the Summit can be found at:
Civil society challenges WIPO over so-called Africa Summit
US, WIPO training programme on IP Rights in Africa come under fire