Intellectual Property

Reflections on Day 2 of the AfIELN Biennial Conference: Covid-19 and International Economic Law: Africa’s Experiences and Responses

It is apparent that the issue of private creditors in relation to African sovereign debt is a ticking timing bomb in Africa. Africa, though rich in minerals, has slow economic growth and a serious debt problem. There is thus a need for a harmonised legal framework that deals with the issue of sovereign debt, set a limit on debt levels, and outlines how debt restructuring should occur. Africa cannot afford to wait for the active buy-in of other multilateral players in order to develop this legal framework; Africa needs to drive this initiative. In addition, both players—being African countries and private creditors—must take responsibility to avoid reckless lending. This can also be addressed in a much-needed comprehensive legal framework.

The Southern African Public Law Journal Launches New Blog: The Public Law Corner

August 22, 2021

In association with the Southern African Public Law Journal (SAPL), the Public Law Corner (PLC) is a contemporary space for legal practitioners, students, academics, and people beyond the legal sector to engage with relevant and current legal issues related to public law. Our main aim is to amplify all voices and issues in public law that are often excluded from formal publications.

Webinar: Teaching and Researching International Economic Law in Africa, Strategies for Overcoming Publishing Challenges

July 2, 2021

International economic law is an emerging area of teaching, research, and practice in Africa. The area, which is a sub-field of international law, is concerned with the regulation of economic relations between states as well as the conduct of private parties involved in cross-border economic and business transactions.

WIPO National IP Essay Competition 2021: Intellectual Property, SMEs, and Economic Recovery in Nigeria

The WIPO Nigeria Office welcomes participation of all students of tertiary institutions across Nigeria in the 2021 National IP Essay Competition on the topic "Intellectual Property, SMEs, and Economic Recovery in Nigeria". 

International Women’s Day: In Conversation with Professor Olufunmilayo Arewa

To mark the 2021 International Women’s Day themed #Choose to Challenge, Afronomicslaw.org celebrates Professsor Olufunmilayo Arewa’s brilliant contributions to Transactional Law and Intellectual Property Law. Murray H. Shusterman Professor of Transactional and Business Law at Temple University Beasely School of Law, Professor Arewa has worked as a consultant on various projects, including engagements relating to education and scientific and technological capacity in Africa. She was also the lead consultant on a project examining the feasibility of establishing a venture capital fund in the Eastern Caribbean.

International Women’s Day: In Conversation with Professor Abbe Brown

To mark the 2021 International Women’s Day themed #Choose to Challenge, Afronomicslaw.org celebrates Professor Abbe Brown’s brilliant contributions to Intellectual Property Law. Professor Brown is the Dean for Student Support at the University of Aberdeen, Vice Chair of BILETA (British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association) and Member of a high-level expert working group on genome editing and patents.

Beyond Land Reforms: Strengthening Links with Food Sovereignty and Land Rights Activists

The ANRC's volume on 'Rethinking Land Reforms in Africa: new ideas, opportunities and challenges' delivers what it promises: a diverse and stimulating compilation of perspectives over the relationship between land and the socio-economic conditions of people in Sub Saharan Africa. Its main merits are the reclamation of the political nature of land, the combination of academic and non-academic contributors who break with the monotone and hyper-specialized vocabulary that tend to monopolize conversations around land reforms, and the variety of topics and perspectives (including in disagreement).

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): A Dilemma for People and Human Rights in the Global South?

The current century's threat to communities, including climate change and vast and deepening inequalities, may be aggravated by the Agreement. By limiting the power of governments to govern in the interests of the community and the environment, and bolstering a regulatory framework intended to advance the interest of multi-national corporations and only the wealthiest people, trade and investment agreements deepen issues of human rights. The RCEP may, as a consequence, advertently exclude marginalised groups, including women, indigenous peoples, migrants and essentially those without any capital or political power.