WINDHOEK – The Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade & SME Development, through the Business and Intellectual Property Authority, on behalf of the Government of Namibia, launched the first National Policy on Intellectual Property during a high-level breakfast engagement on Wednesday in Windhoek.
The Intellectual Property (IP) Policy establishes the framework conducive for innovation and competitiveness through IP education, protection and commercialisation. It defines the parameters of the use of IP as a strategic catalyst to accelerate transformational growth at home and contribute to socio-economic development. The policy sets Namibia’s vision for IP, identifies objectives and key strategies and establishes an institutional framework to serve as the coordinating body in IP-related policy and strategic matters.
Delivering the keynote address, Deputy Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Lucia Iipumbu, noted that intellectual property serves as an effective policy tool to unlock local creative, inventive and innovative potential, stimulate the transfer and use of technologies and creative works, and to encourage fair competition. According to her, this in turn promotes the creation of wealth, and fosters national social, cultural and economic development.
Director of Commerce at the Ministry, Maria Pogisho, noted: “Given the cross-cutting nature and scope of intellectual property, the policy responds to the linkages between intellectual property and other areas, such as: industrialisation, trade, investment, innovation, science, technology, agriculture, education traditional knowledge and genetic resources. It addresses the relationship of intellectual property to communication polices, universities and research and development institutions and SMEs.”
The execution of the policy will be achieved through coordinated and targeted deliberations with stakeholders through the establishing of technical committees, and employing the advice and services of professional experts where necessary. The policy provides for its implementation through 14 objectives that will be executed over a 5-year period.
Urgent attention will be given a number of areas, namely: To integrate IP into national development plans and sectoral development policies to ensure meaningful contributions of the IP systems, in support of development goals; to set up and strengthen an effective mechanism to ensure policy coherence and coordination amongst relevant public and private sector bodies; to ensure that the relevant institutions, which are involved in the generation of IP assets, have a policy and institutional framework to support their generation, protection, management and exploitation; to have adequate, effective, dynamic and comprehensive IP and related laws to encourage local creativity, invention and innovation, stimulate transfer of technology, enhance fair competition, maintain balance between the interest of rights owners and public, and to comply with the requirements of relevant international IP instruments.