Results tagged “Intellectual Property” from ITTI: The International Technology Transfer Institute at Pierce Law

 In January 2010, Francis Gurry, the Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), visited Vietnam and met with Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet.  WIPO is one of 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations and was set up in 1967 to promote the protection of intellectual property (IP) throughout the world.  During his visit in Vietnam, Francis pledged WIPO's continuing support to help Vietnam develop its IP capacity to innovate and achieve sustainable economic growth.  During the meeting, President Nguyen also reiterated Vietnam's commitment to protecting IP rights and establishing sustainable IP system that would allow Vietnam to shift away from an agricultural-based economy and to become a knowledge-based economy.

Gurry's unequivocal promise to support and strengthen Vietnam's national IP system is a welcoming sign to a country that has been plagued by a lack of human resources and funding to hold education programs on IP.  Although Vietnam has become the 150^th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January 11, 2007 and numerous economic legislations have since been introduced by the Vietnamese legislative body to match the WTO standard in IP protection and innovation, high-tech utilization in Vietnam remains very low at 2%, while other Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have flourished with a utilization rate of 30%, 51%, and 73%, respectively (see Tran Ngoc Hien, Social Changes in Vietnam Under Impacts of WTO Accession, Social Science Information Review, Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 4 (2007). Appendix B.).

Law universities in Vietnam also are limited in terms of providing IP education and research opportunities.  It is reported that most university researchers and administrators lack legal capacity in understanding the basic IP issues.  See Gregory D. Graff, Echoes of Bayh-Dole? A Survey of IP and Technology Transfer Policies in Emerging and Developing Economies, Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation, a handbook of best practices (2007), vol. 1, p. 187.  While the general public knows that Vietnam's National Assembly has enacted IP Law No. 50/2005, which provides key provisions of Vietnam's Patent Law, most do not understand the legal implication of the new law.  Coupled with a lack of legal scholars and professionals to teach IP and the limited availability of legal education to those who possess an undergraduate law degree, there is a critical need for human resources in the field of IP, such as university scholars and professional IP lawyers, to promote the advancement and pursue the legal enforcement of IP rights in Vietnam.

Gurry's Vietnam visit will undoubtedly serve as an unwavering support and important incentive to a country that has been thirsty for international assistance in IP.  Although the idea of protecting IP is not new to Vietnam, as it enacted the Civil Code in 1995, the first legislation introduced that pertains to IP protection, technology has continued to change globally on a lightning pace and the onset of the digital age has resulted in a whole new set of IP-related issues that require a well-managed national IP system in order to ensure that these new issues do not hamper and slow the country's economic growth.

Nigerians like to say that not knowing Nigeria is like not knowing Africa. With a population reaching almost 150 million, Nigeria is the most populated country in the continent. Like many other African nations, disease, poverty and corruption burden its ability to develop and prosper. Although proportionally HIV/AIDS affects only 3.1% of its adult population, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria reaches 2.6 million, the second highest in the continent. Malaria affects 75% of its population, and claims 300,000 of its children each year. Its average yearly per capita income stands currently on $2,400, a fact, which puts most of its citizens below the poverty line. While one could go on and on with this grim picture of Nigeria, in the past decade signs of a different Nigeria emerges.

Simultaneously with the peaceful transfer from military to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has set its National Space and Research Agency. In 2003 the agency launched its first satellite and after few more launches, it is preparing to launch the first Nigerian astronaut to space by year 2015. Since the first production of a Nigerian film in 1960, Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, reached in year 2008 top second worldwide in number of productions, slightly trailing Bollywood and way ahead of Hollywood. Today, Nigeria's education and research system includes 95 universities, 125 polytechnics, and 200 research institutions. Understanding that proactive measures are needed, Nigeria began in 2003 a privatization campaign. After privatizing its national telephone company, which managed in its 30 years of operation to set a total of 4500 telephone lines (in a country of more than 140 million), it reached in 2006, 32 million GSM accounts. Inflation reached by 2006 a single digit and its yearly GDP ranked at 6.5%, while the "recommended" OECD measure stood on 2.5%. Nigeria reduced its foreign debt, and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) grew from $6 to $18 billion. The Nigerian stock market reported 40% returns on investments in 2006, and Goldman Sachs forecasted in 2003 that by year 2050, Nigeria would be among the most economically successful nations worldwide.

Nigeria's leaders recognize the value of intellectual property (IP) and its potential in pushing the Nigerian economy forward. Quoted in the Daily Sun, President Yar'Adua said that "commercialization of research products is key to achieving Vision 2020...not commercializing means that we import everything we need." (4/30/09). Addressing issues such as macro-economy, infrastructure, education, health, agriculture and manufacturing, Nigeria's leaders hope that by year 2020 the country will be peaceful, harmonious and a stable democracy. Vision 2020 is their plan for reaching this goal. http://www.nv2020.org/.

Further proof for Nigeria's leaders' understanding of the importance of intellectual property and technology transfer to its economy was manifested in a recent meeting between WIPO's Director General, Mr. Francis Gurry, and Nigeria's President, in early September. President Yar'Adua confirmed that "Nigeria is fully committed to the ideals of WIPO and the protection and enforcement of IPR." The President also urged WIPO's DG to establish a training institute in the country in partnership with the Nigeria government. All Africa.com 9/2/09.