Following a successful meeting of the heads of the patent offices of the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – South Africa hosted an IP conference November 17-20 in Durban for those and other developing countries to learn more about IP commercialization from experts worldwide.

The conference, Creating and Leveraging Intellectual Property in Developing Countries: A Power Tool for Social and Economic Growth, was jointly-sponsored by South Africa’s Companies and IP Commission (CIPC) and the National IP Management Office (NIPMO).

“[This conference] comes at an important time – not just in the progress of South Africa, but throughout all of Africa, as well as the BRICS nations, as the countries work to shape the future of IP. South Africa and other African countries consider it a priority to motivate domestic inventions to spur economic and social growth,” said a NIMPO statement.

A variety of topics was covered for the 300 attendees, including sessions on the strategic use of IP in emerging economies and the effect of the national patent system on the perceived investment value of a patent.

With key international government, industrial and academic leaders from Africa, the BRICS countries and the United States and Europe, the conference was co-chaired by CIPC commissioner Astrid Ludin, NIPMO head Jonathan Youngleson and Sherry Knowles, principal at Knowles IP Strategies in Atlanta. 

Besides the main conference, the inaugural African IP Exhibition Hall, organized by the Innovation Hub of Gauteng Province and the African branch of the International Association of Science Parks, was featured with about 50 booths full of posters and exhibits by African inventors.