O​n November 19, Namibia through the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), the national agency for intellectual property rights, hosted the 42nd Session of the ARIPO Administrative Council, set to deliberate and discuss the administrative aspects of ARIPO including the proposed budget and program of activities for the calendar year. Currently, there are 19 participating member states of ARIPO which include Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Kingdom of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In addition to the 19 member states, a number observer states also attended this session. ARIPO cooperative partners which include the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Organization Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI) are also participated at the administrative council meeting. The meeting had the Japan Patent’s Office (JPO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The JPO celebrated the 10th year anniversary of the Japan Funds in Trust for Africa administered by WIPO. To celebrate the 10 year anniversary, BIPA in collaboration with ARIPO, JPO, and WIPO held a high-level panel discussion on innovation and intellectual property. UPOV had a seminar where they sensitized participants on UPOV system for the protection of plant varieties.

Source: AG-IP News, Ecns.cn