Conference presentations by the team in 2019

By Chijioke Okorie

As part of the Chair’s research pursuits, our members participate in local and international conversations on intellectual property law, innovation and related issues. Academic and industry conferences provide a platform for us to disseminate our research and create awareness of issues pertaining to intellectual property law in the African context. 

UCT-SPARC Open Access Symposium 2019: Open Access and social justice driving African development – iThemba LABS, Old Faure Road, outside Stellenbosch.

The University of Cape Town Libraries and the African chapter of the Scholarly Publishing Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) together with its Northern American counterpart and in collaboration with the Western Cape Universities hosted a symposium from 2nd to 6th December 2019 to discuss the subject of Open Access and the social justice and knowledge equity imperatives that the Open Access movement affords. In the opening session on “Open Access and Social Justice: Setting the Scene”, Professor Caroline Ncube presented a paper on “Open access and social justice”, which explored the social justice principles of the open access movement, the regulatory frameworks for open access and social justice, and how libraries are to contribute to the open access movement.

2019 WIPO/ARIPO/OAPI (WAO) Conference on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Value Addition for Business Competitiveness and Sustainable Development in Africa - Harare

Between 5th and 8th November 2019, the the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and the Organisation africaine de la propriété intellectuelle (OAPI) hosted a Conference on “Intellectual Property, Innovation and Value Addition for Business Competitiveness and Sustainable Development in Africa”. The conference involved presentations and workshops, which explored the challenges and opportunities for Africa in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Over the course of the conference, Professor Caroline Ncube presented papers and workshops on the following topics:

1. Intellectual Property fundamentals and Principles (Young African Innovators, Creators and Entrepreneurs Workshop: Intellectual Property, Innovation and Value Addition for Business Competitiveness and Sustainable Development in Africa - 5 November 2019).
2. SMEs, IP and economic growth in Africa (6 November 2019).
3. Incentivising innovation and commercialisation of IP assets by SMEs (7 November 2019).
4. Funding R&D in African Research Institutions (7 November 2019).

 

Lecture Series: Fort Hare Institute of Social and Economic Research (FHISER) University of Fort Hare Invited Lecture: Cultural heritage, Indigenous Knowledge, Innovation and Intellectual Property. Fort Hare Institute of Social and Economic Research (FHISER) University of Fort Hare.

On 4th October 2019, Professor Ncube was at the University of Fort Hare (4 October 2019) at the invitation of FHISER where she gave a lecture on “Cultural heritage, Indigenous Knowledge, Innovation and Intellectual Property”. Her paper discussed South Africa’s regulatory approach to the protection of cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge providing examples from other jurisdictions.

 

International Conference on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries, Archives, Museums and Educational & Research Institutions

The WIPO International Conference on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions for Libraries, Archives, Museums and Educational and Research Institutions, was held in Geneva on 18th and 19th October, 2019 in accordance with the Action Plans on Limitations and Exceptions approved by member states during the 36th session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) held in June 2018. The Conference concluded the fact-finding and information gathering phase envisaged in the limitations and exceptions. The Conference concluded the fact-finding and information gathering phase envisaged in the limitations and exceptions Action Plans for libraries, archives, museums and educational and research Institutions. Professor Caroline Ncube, was part of the panel on “educational and research institutions.”

Centre for Law, Technology and Society, University of Ottawa – Brownbag Workshop Series

On 9th October 2019, Dr Chijioke Okorie presented a paper at the University of Ottawa on “Gender equality and social justice through the regulation of collecting societies”. Her paper argued for a more gendersensitive regulatory approach to the activities of copyright collecting societies in South Africa.

4th Annual Conference of the Law and Development Research Network (LDRN): The Plurality of Law and Development – Humboldt University, Berlin.

On 25 to 27 September 2019, the Law and Development Research Network (LDRN) held its 4th annual conference at the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. The conference attracted both established and emerging scholars, from the Global South, including Africa. Dr Desmond Oriakhogba, delivered a paper on “Empowering rural Zulu women bead-makers through social entrepreneurship and open and inclusive collaboration: case study of the Woza Moya project of Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa”. Dr Oriakhogba’s paper will appear as a peer reviewed article in a forthcoming issue of the South African Law Journal in 2020.

 

Professor Ncube was at the UCT Graduate School of Business Conference Centre on 27 to 28 September 2019 for the Workshop on “Transformative Industrialisation, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and Global Governance” where she spoke on a panel. 

 

2019 Social Justice Summit & International Conference - Hazendal Wine Estate, Stellenbosch

The Social Justice Chair at Stellenbosch University hosted the 2019 Social Justice Summit & International Conference on the 29th – 31st August 2019. This year, the conference theme was on “Leveraging the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Human Rights Agenda to advance Social Justice”. Presentations were made by academics and practitioners working in the field of law and social justice, development, and human rights. In a session on “Employment and Inclusive economic development”, Professor Ncube presented a paper (co-authored with Dr R Raju, Director of Research & Learning at the University of Cape Town Libraries) on “Open Science and Open Access: A social justice imperative for South Africa”. Dr Chijioke Okorie also presented a paper on “Gender equality and social justice through the regulation of collecting societies in South Africa” during a session on “Social and Gender Justice”.

 

3rd Annual Conference of the South African Association of IP Law and IT Law Teachers and Researchers (AIPLITL): The IP and IT Law Interface - University of Cape Town.

The 3rd Annual Conference of the South African Association of IP Law and IT Law Teachers and Researchers (AIPLITL) was held at the University of Cape Town (UCT) on 1st and 2nd July 2019. The conference, hosted by the Chair in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Unit at UCT, was on the theme "The IP and IT Law Innovation Interface". The conference brought together researchers, teachers and practitioners from Africa and other continents to share insights and research into various aspects of the conference theme. Dr Chijioke Okorie presented a paper on “IP, Internet and the right to economic freedom” during a session on Copyright and the IT Innovation Interface. Dr Desmond Oriakhogba presented on “Regulation of collecting societies in South Africa: Exploring the interface between copyright and competition law” at the session on Applications of the IP and IT Innovation Interface.

 

Regional Trade Forum: AfCFTA Implementation: Breaking Down Geographical, Logistical and Regulatory Barriersto Trade and Investment in the Horn to Boost Industrialisation - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Professor Ncube has contributed her expertise to the ongoing drafting and negotiation work on the AfCFTA, particularly the Protocol on IP. To that end, she was an invited panelist at the regional trade forum held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and organised by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the Government of Ethiopia, the African Union Commission (AUC), and the European Union (EU). The theme of the forum held on 27 June 2019 was “AfCFTA Implementation: Breaking Down Geographical, Logistical and Regulatory Barriers to Trade and Investment in the Horn to Boost Industrialisation: A Focus on the Pharmaceutical Industry” and Professor Ncube was a panelist during the session on “Services liberalization and Phase II issues. AfCFTA Regional Trade Forum – Horn of Africa”.

 

2019 International Conference on Intellectual Property and Development – World Intellectual Property Organisation, Geneva

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) hosted the 2019 International Conference on Intellectual Property and Development on 20th May 2019. The conference was organised in the framework of the WIPO Development Agenda and in the context of WIPO’s Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP). This year, the focus of the conference was on “How to Benefit from the IP System”. There were presentations from panelists from across the globe, who shared their insights on how the IP system benefits creativity and innovation and, global issues such as trade, regional integration, public health and access to medicine. In a session on how the IP system benefits global issues, Professor Ncube  spoke on how to think about IP in the context of trade and regional initiatives. According to her, regional initiatives ought to be customizable to the local context at all stages and IP provisions in the regional agreements ought to be flexible, usable and customizable in the local contexts.

38th Session of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (WIPO SCCR) and other side events, 2019, Geneva

The 38th session of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (WIPO-SCCR) took place from 1 to 5 April 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Chair, Professor Caroline Ncube and Professor Blake Reid presented the findings from their scoping study on access to copyright protected works by persons with disabilities before the plenary on 3 April 2019. They also presented their findings at side event on“Technologies and Accessibility for People with Disabilities”. The side events provide an opportunity for researchers and experts to discuss specific issues more fully. Professor Ncube opened the side event with lead-in remarks, which focused on the legal and policy considerations for creating accessible format copies for disabled persons in the new technologies’ era. 

 

Professor Caroline Nucbe's work has continued to attract significant attention within South Africa, the African continent and globally. In April 2019, Professor Ncube was in Banjul, The Gambia at the invitation of WIPO and The Gambia Industrial Property Office. At a two-day national symposium on Intellectual Property education, training and research held from 15th to 17th April, Professor Ncube shared her research and insights on how to address the formal introduction of IP courses at the UTG and other higher learning institutions in The Gambia.

 

In March 2019, Professor Ncube was Keynote Speaker at the ilifu Research Data Management Project workshop held at the University of the Western Cape. In her presentation on “Legal and ethical aspects around data sharing”, she explored the regulatory landscape in terms of legal and ethical consideration for open access and research data management.