Registration of intellectual property rights on the rise

Trademarks dominate intellectual property rights registrations in the country, with 635 of the 874 cross-filed this year, statistics from the Office of the Registrar General show.There have been 232 copyright registrations, four patents, two industrial designs and one utility module this year.Intellectual property is a legal concept, which refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognised and takes various forms such as trademarks, patents, copy rights, industrial design rights.This year’s total is up 71 registrations from last year’s 803, indicating a positive trend since regulation was enacted in 2008.The office, which is responsible for registration, publishing, renewal and determining scope of authentic intellectual property rights, attributes the progress to increased awareness campaigns on what intellectual property registration entails, as well as the benefits.Yvette Tumukunde, an intellectual property official, said there have been several awareness campaigns targeting companies and individuals with intellectual property.“We have been having regular forums involving people with intellectual property they can register to encourage them to register as well as make known to them potential benefits of registration,” she said.“The ease of the process has also played part in increasing the number as there are few requirements. Awareness campaigns we have carried out have also been helpful.”The Office of the Registrar, under the Rwanda Development Board, took over the role in mid 2008 from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. At the time, there were 6,168 registered intellectual property rights since independence, with 5,557 of them registered by foreigners.Local firms picking paceBlaise Ruhima, the in-charge of registration of industrial designs, said the number of local firms registering is gradually increasing.“Previously, we had local companies constituting only about 5 per cent of the total number, but now local companies and individuals make close to 20 per cent of the total entities registered,” Ruhima said.There has also been multi- stakeholder’s collaboration among the various stakeholders and players in registration and enforcement of intellectual property rights policy. The Rwanda National Police and commercial courts investigate and prosecute in the event of intellectual property rights disputes.The Ministry of Trade and Industry is involved with policy formulation; Rwanda Bureau of Standard regulates products quality.Miriam Gachimbanyi, an intellectual property rights expert at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said there has been positive collaboration with the policy clearly indicating the mandate of each organ.“There is positive synergy among the various organs involved and we are planning to conduct bigger forums and awareness campaigns jointly to strengthen the relationship,” Gachimbanyi said.Partnerships with international bodies such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) and African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, have also boosted capacity building efforts.Rwanda has been a member of Wipo since 1983, and a signatory to World Trade Organisation agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, which provide guidelines for unifying national policies on intellectual property rights and a framework to resolve disputes.“Registered companies are protected not only in the country, but also on a global scale and are given support during arbitration,” Gachimbanyi said.Awareness lowGachimbanyi said intellectual property rights is still a new concept in the country and probably in the region, so it is yet to be fully understood by the majority of citizens.“We still face a challenge of awareness of the need of intellectual property, but we are strategising further ways to reach more people. We are also constantly engaging key players in training in and out of the country to bridge the skills gap,” she said.Police spokesperson Damas Gatare said their role in the implementation of the policy is to investigate cases of infringements.Ruhima, from the Registrar’s office, said there is also need for increased communication among organisations tasked to implement the policy for proper enforcement and follow-up issues.The Office of the Registrar, he added, has plans to attract more local companies to register at least to the level of 50:50 when weighed against foreign firms.