Caroline B Ncube: Intellectual Property Policy, Law and Administration in Africa: Exploring continental and sub-regional cooperation

• Date: 24 May 2019
• Author: Nwauche, E.S.
• Citation: (2018) IPLJ 120
• Pages: 120-123
• Published date: 24 May 2019

 INTEL LECTUAL

PROPERTY POLICY, LAW AND

ADMINISTRATION IN AFRICA:

ExPLORING CONTINENTAL AND

SUB-REGIONAL COOPERATION

Author: Caroline B Ncube

Publisher: Routledge

Page: 188



Professor, Nelson Mandela S chool of Law University of Fort Hare East Lon don

Former Director General Nigerian Copyright Commission

The challenges of writing ab out African law are ma ny including its

geographical, ling uistic and jural diversity. A continent made up of 57 States,

many languages and t hree jural syste ms (Common Law; Civil Law and



on any legal subject. In many areas , including intellectual propert y law, there

is a dearth of literat ure. We know little of what has emerged from de cades

of the protection and promotion of intellect ual propert y in African st ates. If

information is scarc e about primar y materials such as cas es and legislation,

          

journal ar ticles. Professor Caroline Ncube has done Af rican Intellect ual

Property L aw a great service by writing a text on co ntinental and sub-regional



According to the preface, Intellectu al Property Policy, Law and

Administration in Africa aim s to ‘examine efforts t o harmonise IP policy, law

       

that ‘This book considers t he viability of the creation of a harmonised Af rican

continental and sub -regional Intellectu al Propert y (IP) framework, keeping

in sight the fact that Afr ican States have different so cio-economic cultu ral

and political contexts.’ To provide a context for the ensuing discussion of

the different forms of IP f rameworks in Af rica, Chapter 1 exam ines the

public interest as an organ ising principle of intellectua l property prot ection

at the national and global levels, exploring pers pectives such as the World

Intellectual Pro perty Orga nisation (WI PO) Development Agenda. To

demonstrate the ma nner in which Afr ican States have art iculated national

public interests, chapter 1 exa mines how African States and Af rican Regional

    

Trade Organisation Trade-Related Asp ects of Intellectual P roperty R ights

     

           

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