The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has promised to support member states to realise their Information Communication Technology potential.

Speaking during the on-going regional seminar on intellectual property, the Senior Program Officer, Cooperation for Development Bureau - Africa, at WIPO, Yves Ngoubeyou, said that the emerging technological developments and the growing digital economy present both challenges and opportunities for the international community and the IP system.

"WIPO is fully committed to support its member states in taking advantage of the opportunities associated to the new technological environment,” he said.

"In this context WIPO is fully engaged in the process of adapting international IP (Intellectual Property) framework to the evolving needs of the information society”

The workshop that is organized by the Ministry in Charge of ICT in the Office of the President, in collaboration with WIPO, aims at updating African countries on recent developments regarding Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) issues.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry in charge of ICT, David Kanamugire said that the government is fully compliant with IPRs. "Rwanda was chosen to host the forum because of the commitment the country has shown in terms of ICT development,” he said.

"We passed the IPR laws and our country has fully embraced the protection of the IPRs”

Kanamugire stressed that the meeting will highlight IPRs in relation to e-Health as well as analyze how software can become powerful tools for economic and healthcare development in African countries.

The two-day meeting has attracted participants from Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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