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Judith Phiri, Sunday News Reporter
THE African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (Aripo) says there has been a low uptake of Intellectual Property (IP) system and has encourages companies and businesses to take the lead in embracing intellectual property (IP) rights meant to protect domestic innovations by registering their trademarks.
In an interview, Aripo head of Policy, Legal and International Co-operation Mr Pierre Runiga said companies have been reluctant to register their IP which is essential for them to be competitive.
“Unfortunately, there is still low uptake of Intellectual Property (IP) system by African businesses. This is evidenced by the disproportionate number of IP applications filed by non-Aripo residents. As a remedy to this, Aripo invests a lot in awareness-raising on the importance of using Intellectual Property in general, and trademarks for businesses in particular. At Aripo, we believe that the strategic use of Intellectual Property by businesses adds value to companies’ products for their competitiveness,” said Mr Runiga.
He added that it was dangerous for companies to provide products in brands similar to well-known brands as these had protection.
“It is common to see nowadays some companies using well-known brands. This is dangerous for those businesses especially on the sustainability aspect. The protection of IP rights is by principle territorial; that is, your rights will be protected in the country where you have registered them.
“However, for well-known marks (or famous), such protection is granted whether the rights are registered or not. For example, the right owner of Nike can flag infringement wherever in the world if the brand is used without their consent,” he said.
Mr Runiga noted that the organisation has been carrying out workshops to educate companies and stated the importance of IP in their strategic plans.
“In Aripo’s initiatives on awareness creation, we have in a number of occasions targeted SMEs, and one of the topics that we have covered during the workshops is on flag infringement or dangers of using well-known brands without their consent. If a business wants to grow, they need to consider Intellectual Property in their strategic plan.
The importance of considering Intellectual Property in the strategic plan of companies cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, if a business is targeting international market, chances of success are low if they neglect Intellectual Property,” said Mr Runiga.
He also said that companies that would unethically take advantage of other enterprises’ achievements would face consequences that would affect their business.
“Intellectual Property considers as contrary to the honest business practice the fact for a company to unfairly take advantage of the reputation of the market achievements of other enterprises. One of the consequences of unfairly building on other enterprises’ achievements is the manufacturing of fake products under the brand of the reputable mark. And this is in many legislations an offence. The rise of fake products (counterfeits) is not necessarily linked to the lack of/ or low rate of registration of trademarks, it is rather to be considered in the context of malpractice and unfair competition among businesses,” he said.
He added: “Counterfeiting is a serious issue at global level as it can even result in putting on the market products that are health threatening (e.g. counterfeit pharmaceutical products). That is why ARIPO is supporting initiatives aimed at fighting such practices.
In this context, ARIPO cooperates with partners such as WIPO and INTERPOL, especially in providing training to Law enforcement agencies (mostly police academies) on the respect of Intellectual Property.”
Mr Runiga also noted that there are various elements Zimbabwean SMEs should consider when choosing the route to protect their Intellectual Property (registering their brand).
“Definitely the three possible routes are ZIPO (national), ARIPO (regional) or WIPO (international). To choose the rightful route ask yourself where the commercialization of your product would take place, that is, the product might be designed only for local users/consumers. What are the main markets for similar products? What are the costs for protection in each target market and what is your budget, remember there is need of some fee to protect your rights and maintain such protection.
“Also consider where the product would be produced, how difficult would it be (challenges) to enforce Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the given country, what is the status of the legal framework related to Intellectual Property in the country. And lastly, where the main competitors are located,” said Mr Runiga.
Bongani Ndlovu