Three (3) Committees delegated to deliberate on the technical matters around the optimization of ARIPO’s industrial property mandates were successfully conducted during August 2023.
Director General Bemanya Twebaze officially opened all the sessions, emphasizing the importance of the tasks enshrined in the work of all the ARIPO Technical Committees, given their mandate issued by the Administrative Council. He also spoke further about the current intellectual property development in the global context, and emphasized the importance of optimizing ARIPO systems' operational and technical approaches in alignment with the digital and technological changes, amongst other real-time dynamics.
The 13th Session of the Technical Committee on Industrial Property (TCIP) kicked off on 21 August 2023, with five ARIPO Member States sitting to deliberate and review the Harare and Banjul Protocols as tasked by the 46th Session of the Administrative Council, which was held in Maputo Mozambique. Member States constituting the TCIP are The Gambia (Chairing), Liberia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The 10th Session of the Technical Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (TCCR) was conducted from 24 to 25 August 2023. Five ARIPO Member States, namely Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Zimbabwe, virtually convened to deliberate on matters related to copyright initiatives for the region. Amongst other issues, the agenda for the 2-day session included considerations of the "Regional Strategy on Private Copy Remuneration" and "Reputation Management Guide for Collective Management Organizations."
The 8th Session of the Technical Committee on Plant Variety Protection (TCPVP), which started on 28 August 2023, concluded on 29 August 2023. Following the 2-day deliberations, a comprehensive report on ARIPO's activities surrounding intellectual property rights matters within agriculture, breeders’ rights, etc., was completed for submission to the Administrative Council. Member States currently holding the TCPVP obligations are The Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The reports from the Technical Committee Sessions will be tabled before the 47th ARIPO Administrative Council Session set for Gaborone, Botswana, in November 2023 for consideration.