Pretoria – Sound intellectual property (IP) management is a powerful tool that can help to bolster the economies and competitiveness of developing countries, says Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom.
“The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Reports over the years have consistently projected a strong correlation between the protection of intellectual property rights and a nation’s competitiveness.
“The argument made is that weak intellectual property systems do not support growth or competitiveness of the firms and therefore countries. On the other hand, a strong IP regime gives rise to investor confidence, as investors have comfort that their rights as IP-holders will not be infringed upon,” said Hanekom.
Speaking at the opening of the Intellectual Property Conference -- themed ‘Creating and Leveraging Intellectual Property in Developing Countries -- in Durban, Hanekom said ensuring sound IP management mechanisms were in place was crucial if South Africa were to successfully move from resource-based economy to a knowledge-based one.
The conference was attended by international key government, organisation, industrial and academic leaders from Africa and other BRICS countries, as well as the US and Europe.
Hanekom said over the years, the engine of wealth creation has been shifting from physical, tangible assets to intellectual capital, or intangible assets. He said that a competitive advantage was created for countries through the strategic management and use of IP.
He noted that countries such as South Korea and China have developed their economies primarily through government intervention in their local systems of innovation to build on their competencies in manufacturing.
“There is evidence of a strong correlation between their economic growth and their patenting rate,” said Hanekom.
Korea’s spectacular transformation from a poor farming economy in the 1960s with a per capita income of less than US $100, to a highly industrialised country with a per capita income of US $12 000 today, resulted from a systematic economic and trade development policy that included incentives for technological innovation and the development of domestic intellectual property assets.
IP in South Africa
In acknowledgement of the importance of IP management, South Africa promulgated and passed into law the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act, known as the IPR-PFRD Act, which came into effect in 2010.
The National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) was subsequently set up to implement the act.
The introduction of the IPR-PFRD Act was brought about by the realisation that the South African publicly financed research and development (R&D) institutions collaborate on a global scale with countries that have strong IP regimes.
“In cases where our IP regimen shows signs of not being watertight, IP may be lost to foreign jurisdiction through collaboration agreements,” said Hanekom.
In addition to the policy guidance, NIPMO gives support to the offices of technology transfer so that they can put in place mechanisms to identify commercial potential. Hanekom said this has led to better IP management in publicly financed R&D institutions.
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) is also a key player in the field, collaborating on IP education and awareness to reach publicly financed R&D institutions.
The dti is currently in the process of finalising the National Policy on Intellectual Property. This policy is aimed at empowering South Africans and creating an environment conducive to economic development, while strengthening intellectual property mechanisms to improve confidence and attract investment, as well as to promote research, development and innovation. – SAnews.gov.za
