Robinson Esalimba - One of the renowned American inventors from the last century and former head of research at General Motors, Charles Kettering, was famous for his snazzy quotes and sound bites. One of my favourites is; “A problem well stated, is a problem half solved.” I couldn’t agree more. In the first part of my post on Stuck in the First Gear, I suggested that the draft WIPO proposal on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (CDIP/4/7) which is up for discussion at the fifth session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) from April 26 to 30, 2010; is unlikely, as currently framed, to move forward the discussion on transfer of technology. This is because the problem has not been well stated.
Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category
Stuck in the First Gear: Moving Forward the Discussion on International Transfer of Technology – Part II
Saturday, February 6th, 2010Stuck in the First Gear: Moving Forward the Discussion on International Transfer of Technology - Part I
Saturday, February 6th, 2010Robinson Esalimba - Notwithstanding the high regard one might have for a computer software engineer, it would be outrageous to consider commissioning one to design a drug for malaria, or even still, that the drug should be produced in a car manufacturing plant. Yet, it is precisely in this manner that most discussions on transfer of technology have carried on; as if what is good for the car is good enough for the drug. The proposed World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Development Agenda project on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer (CDIP/4/7), which is up for discussion at the fifth session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) in April 2010, has the opportunity to change this thinking, but only if it redefines the problem that it seeks to solve. In this post and in Part II, I propose how this can be done.
Commentary on the WIPO Study on limitations and exceptions to copyright and related rights for the benefit of teaching in Africa
Sunday, December 13th, 2009Susan Isiko Štrba - The study on limitations and exceptions (L&E) for copyright and related rights for teaching in Africa to be discussed at the nineteenth Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) which will take place from 14 to 18 December 2009, is a valuable contribution as it summarizes the status of limitations and exceptions (L&E) for the benefit of teaching in over 30 African countries south of the Sahara. However, by focusing on teaching instead of educational activities and excluding L&E for research or private study jeopardizes the purpose of the study.
A Take on Clinton’s AGOA Speech
Thursday, August 6th, 2009Sisule F. Musungu - From potential to opportunity to governance through to the excellent Nairobi hairdos. The speech by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as the head of the U.S. delegation to the 8th AGOA Forum, on 5th of August 2009 in Nairobi was quite wide-ranging. Its value primarily lies in the detail it offered regarding the policy that Obama outlined in his Ghana Speech less than a month before. They say the devil is in the detail. For that reason having the detail can tell you if, and where, the devil might be in Obama’s Africa policy.
U.S. –Africa Trade: Assessing Nine Years of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
Monday, August 3rd, 2009Sisule F. Musungu - The eighth African Growth and Opportunity Act -8th AGOA Forum- takes place in Nairobi, Kenya from the 4th to the 6th August 2009. The theme for this year’s Forum is “Realizing the Full Potential of AGOA through Expansion of Trade and Investment”. The theme sounds depressingly similar to the themes of the last two forums. The theme of the 7th AGOA Forum, in 2008, was “Mobilizing Private Investment for Trade and Growth” and that for the 6th Forum, in 2007, “As Trade Grows, Africa Prospers: Optimizing the Benefits under AGOA.” The topics in the Forum Programme are also fairly familiar. The familiarity of topics and like sounding themes year in year out might not necessarily be a negative thing. But it is a reason to look beyond the surface.
