| Description: |
The elaboration of a national intellectual property development plan (IPDP) for the Kingdom of Swaziland, with the assistance of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was started in May 2014, with the organization of a national Workshop.
Subsequently, WIPO engaged the services of three experts namely Mr. Getachew Mengistie, Intellectual Property Law Consultant, Addis Ababa; Dr. Susan Isiko Štrba, Consultant, Intellectual Property, Trade and Development, Geneva; and Dr. Peter Mangaliso Dludlu, National Consultant, Mbabane, to carry out the task. The ICS contracts of the Experts were from November 15, 2014, to May 31, 2015, and included two field visits and participation in two multi-stakeholders Workshops in Mbabane, Swaziland, as spelt out in their Terms of Reverence (TORs). The first field trip and Multi-stakeholders Workshop took place in December 2014. Attached are copies of the mission reports and experts TORs.
Since the December Mission, due to institutional restructuring of the IP office which resulted in delays in receiving feedback, some of the deliverables did not take place as scheduled.
In May 2015 following discussions/exchange of e-mails with the Registrar, he indicated their readiness to move the process forward and reported that:
-The National multi-stakeholders task force under the coordination of the IP Office had been instituted;
-The first draft IPDP was shared with the national Stakeholders task force for their preliminary comments; and
-The IP legislations on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Bill and the IP tribunal bills were tabled in Parliament in March 2015.
Based on the above, the mission dates were agreed as follows:
July 27 to 29, 2015:The second field trips of the experts to meet and have focus group meetings with the stakeholders to further enrich and incorporate their comments in the draft IPDP
July 30, 2015:Multi-Stakeholders Workshop: Validation of the national IPDP for the Kingd |