WIPO Signs Intellectual Property Development Plan with the Republic of Ghana
Geneva,
May 8, 2008
PR/2008/551
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reinforced its cooperation with the Republic of Ghana with the signing on May 7, 2008 of an intellectual property (IP) development plan which aims to build the country’s capacity to create, protect and utilize IP as a power tool for economic growth and development. The IP Development Plan also seeks to ensure that the IP offices and potential users of the IP system - such as universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), chambers of commerce and industry, research and development institutions and copyright organizations - have the technical capacity to use the intellectual property system. The agreement was signed, on behalf of the Republic of Ghana, by H.E. Mr. Joe Ghartey, Attorney General and Minister for Justice.
WIPO Director General, Dr. Kamil Idris, welcomed this development which he said marked a new chapter in WIPO’s cooperation with the Republic of Ghana. He said that the Development Plan offered a comprehensive and coherent approach to establishing a robust IP framework that would support the country’s development objectives.
Mr. Ghartey said that the IP Development Plan was timely as Ghana was at the dawn of its economic take-off. He referred to the progress that was being made in the on-going process of national administrative reform and which was boosting his country’s standing within the international business community. The Attorney General added that the Plan was an important step towards building the necessary IP capacity for his country to be able to fully leverage its IP assets and to harvest the economic benefits of Ghana’s innovative and creative assets. Mr. Ghartey also referred to his country’s recent decision to accede to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
The IP Development Plan covers a range of activities including legislative advice and workshops on strategic use of different aspects of the IP system targeting various stakeholders including small and medium-sized enterprises, research and development institutes, and the judiciary. It also includes support and advice to promote the development of creative industries, electronic commerce, copyright collective management, traditional knowledge, agricultural development and plant varieties. The plan further seeks to enhance the country’s IP infrastructure through modernizing and automating national IP administration to ensure high quality service delivery, extensive training and public awareness programs and the development of a national IP strategy to support economic growth and development.
For more information, please contact the News and Media Division at WIPO:
- Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 / 338 72 24
- E-mail