The decision found that OpenAI’s use of the word was close enough to cause confusion among users.

Judges rejected the argument that “Cameo” simply described the feature. Instead, the court said the term suggests a service rather than directly describing it, which gives it stronger protection under US trademark law.

OpenAI had used the Cameo name for a feature in its video generation app, Sora. The feature allowed users to place digital versions of themselves into AI-generated videos.

After a temporary restraining order in November, the company changed the feature’s name to “Characters”.

In a statement, Cameo’s chief executive, Steven Galanis, welcomed the decision.

“We have spent nearly a decade building a brand that stands for talent-friendly interactions and genuine connection, and we like to say that ‘every Cameo is a commercial for the next one.”

He added: “This ruling is a critical victory not just for our company, but for the integrity of our marketplace and the thousands of creators who trust the Cameo name. 

“We will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property against any platform that attempts to trade on the goodwill and recognition we have worked so hard to establish,” he noted.

OpenAI disagreed with the court’s position. A spokesperson told Reuters: “We disagree with the complaint’s assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership over the word ‘cameo,’ and we look forward to continuing to make our case.”

Cameo, which connects fans with celebrities who record personalised video messages, says it has more than 40,000 creators on its platform.

The company argued that OpenAI’s use of the name risked confusing customers and weakening its brand.

This is not the first naming issue involving OpenAI. In November, digital library app OverDrive sued the company over its use of the name “Sora” for its video tool.

Earlier this year, OpenAI also dropped “IO” branding linked to planned hardware products after legal challenges.

Beyond branding rows, OpenAI faces several lawsuits from artists, writers and media groups in different countries.

They allege copyright violations tied to AI-generated content. Those cases are still ongoing.

The post US Court Orders OpenAI to Stop Using ‘Cameo’ Name After Trademark Decision appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

On December 16, 2025, X Corp filed a lawsuit in Delaware federal court against Operation Bluebird, accusing the firm of “brazenly attempting to steal” the Twitter trademarks. 

Days earlier, the company had also revised its Terms of Service to make one point explicit: Twitter is still its property.

The case centres on whether Elon Musk abandoned the Twitter brand when he rebranded the social network as X in July 2023. Operation Bluebird, a Virginia-based startup, says he did. 

In a petition filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on December 2, the group argued that Musk’s rebrand amounted to trademark abandonment, pointing to his 2023 statement that the platform would soon “bid adieu to the twitter brand.”

X rejects that argument outright. In its court filing, the company stated: “The TWITTER brand is alive and well, owned by X Corp., and is not ripe for the picking.” It also said it continues to hold exclusive rights to the Twitter and Tweet trademarks, as well as the bluebird logo, all of which remain registered with the USPTO.

Beyond the courtroom, X has taken steps to reinforce its position in writing. Its updated Terms of Service, which take effect on January 15, 2026, now explicitly restrict the use of both X and Twitter branding. The clause reads:

Nothing in the Terms gives you a right to use the X name or Twitter name or any of the X or Twitter trademarks, logos, domain names, other distinctive brand features, and other proprietary rights, and you may not do so without our express written consent.

Previously, this section referred only to X. Twitter was not mentioned at all.

Operation Bluebird, meanwhile, has begun collecting sign-ups for a proposed social network through a website called Twitter.new. This is being led by two lawyers, founder Michael Peroff, based in Illinois, and Stephen Coates, who previously worked as a trademark lawyer at Twitter itself. 

Given that background, many observers question whether a rival platform is really the goal. We understand that the greater prize may be the trademark itself, which still carries huge commercial value even without an active product attached to it.

That value explains the urgency of X’s response. Twitter is one of the most widely recognised names in the digital economy, with potential uses ranging from licensing to future relaunches. X appears unwilling to leave any legal gap open.

The updated legal documents also include smaller changes. X added references linked to European Union regulations and adjusted its Privacy Policy to include mentions of age assurance technology. These changes, however, are secondary to the message being sent.

X says Twitter is not history, but an asset, the trademark is still owned, still defended, and now firmly written back into the company’s legal framework.

The post X Sues Operation Bluebird, Reasserts Ownership of Twitter Trademark appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

As revealed by the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) latest Indicators report, the surge was driven by inventors in China, India, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the United States. 

China alone accounted for 1.8 million applications, while the US filed 501,831. India recorded a 19.1% increase in patent filings, continuing a six-year streak of double-digit growth in the global space.

Finland and Türkiye also posted strong increases, with filings growing 15.4% and 14.6% respectively.

“In today’s competitive, global economy, innovation is a key driver of growth with IP at the center of many business strategies – whether protecting and promoting breakthrough technologies, trusted brands or eye-catching designs. 

“The continued growth in IP filings also reflects strong confidence in the IP system and the efforts of governments, with WIPO’s support, to incentivize and strengthen innovation. Sustaining this trust requires ongoing global cooperation to ensure a robust and effective IP framework,” said Daren Tang, WIPO director general.

Globally, computer technology was the most patented field, representing 13.2% of applications in 2023, followed by electrical machinery (7.2%), measurement technologies (6.2%), digital communication (5.8%), and medical technologies (4.9%). 

Computer technology was the only field to experience double-digit growth over the past decade, rising 10.3% from 2013 to 2023.

Trademark applications, meanwhile, stabilised after a two-year slowdown, totaling 15.2 million classes in 2024, a marginal 0.1% decline from 2023. 

China led filings with 7.3 million classes, followed by the US (836,457), Russia (559,436), India (532,900), and Brazil (436,291). Growth was strongest in Brazil (+10.4%), India (+7.4%), and Russia (+2.9%), while China and the US saw slight declines.

Design filings also grew, reaching 1.6 million in 2024, up 2.2% from 2023. China topped global design applications with 906,849 filings, followed by Germany, the US, Italy, and South Korea. 

Among the top 20 countries, India (+44.9%), Morocco (+20.2%), and Indonesia (+18.9%) recorded the largest increases. 

The sectors generating the most design activity included furniture and household goods, textiles and accessories, tools and machines, ICT and audiovisual equipment, and electricity and lighting, which together accounted for nearly 63% of global filings.

Intellectual property is now a very important tool for economic growth, and the report on global patent filings, among other aspects, stresses this even more, driving innovation and brand development across multiple sectors worldwide.

The post Global Patent Filings Hit 3.7 Million as Intellectual Property Drives Innovation, Economic Growth appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The Creative Economy Week 2025 is a week-long programme aimed at harnessing and nurturing the abundant creativity in Nigeria while repositioning the creative industry as a driver of national economic growth.

Hannatu Musa Musawa, minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism & Creative Economy, who delivered a keynote address at the event in Lagos, emphasised the significant potential of United Kingdom-Nigeria partnerships in enhancing the creative economy, and emphasised that the collaboration will accelerate capacity building and skills exchange to cultivate a thriving creative industry in Nigeria.

“The creative industry in the United Kingdom is very developed. We believe we can also have a thriving creative industry. The government has stepped in to facilitate this essential handshake. With collaboration with the United Kingdom, Nigeria’s creative sector will further thrive. And beyond that, there are a lot of skills.”

In her remarks, the minister noted that raw talent and creativity are abundant in Nigeria, while noting that the collaboration will foster mutual benefits through training, festivals, and exchanges.

The minister concluded, “With the right training and support, Nigeria’s creative sector can not only thrive but also contribute significantly to job creation and economic development.”

Creative Economy Week Nigeria 2025 spanned across five Nigerian cities: Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, and Enugu, and it will culminate in a landmark London showcase on 11 October. The initiative is designed to identify, nurture talents and creativity in Nigeria. It brought together artists, creative entrepreneurs, cultural hubs, industry leaders, policymakers, investors, and international partners.

The event series showcases the power of creativity and culture as catalysts for inclusive economic growth, youth empowerment, and global connection while spotlighting diaspora voices, strengthening international collaboration, and forging new opportunities for global creative exchange.

During the Week, engaging sessions took place in Lagos. These included discussions on the Women in Film Conference, the Africa Film Finance Forum (AFFF), and presentations focusing on unlocking Nigeria’s Creative Tech and Digital Storytelling Frontiers. Additionally, topics such as the expanding role of music in job creation and market reach were explored, alongside a fireside chat addressing crucial steps for enhancing Nigeria’s creative industry.

In addition, masterclass sessions were conducted on various subjects including, the role of Intellectual Property (IP) in the film industry, SME creative entrepreneurship, and practice management for the film sector.

These discussions are pivotal in promoting professionalism and growth within the industry, further driving socio-economic growth and creating job opportunities.

The post British Council, FG Champion Creative Industry Growth with Creative Economy Week 2025 appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The webinar, which was organised by ImpactHER, was held in partnership with the African Union and had in attendance over 260 female entrepreneurs from 29 African countries and 3 non-African countries.

According to the keynote speaker, Uwa Ohiku, senior partner, Jackson, Etti & Edu, intellectual property plays a very vital role in business success some of which includes – helping businesses gain competitive advantage, creating new revenue opportunities, improving access to funding, attracting strategic partners, minimizing legal risks, footprint expansion and earning customers trust.

She said:

“Intellectual Property can help set businesses apart by giving them a distinct brand identity and value. It can also make the business more appealing to investors, acquirers and collaborator with its protected brand value. To access funding, investors and lenders often see registered IP as a sign of value and credibility and can also serve as a market entry strategy when a business is seeking expansion.

Protecting IP puts a business under pressure to deliver on its promises and to continuously improve on its goods and services and through such quality, businesses earn their customers’ trust and continued patronage”.

Panelists who spoke at the webinar on the topic- “Common IP pitfalls for female entrepreneurs”, noted that female entrepreneurs can protect themselves from falling prey of their IPs through Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA), early registration before commencement of the business and having a commensurate budget that matches business strength.

Jenner Akwale, an intellectual property specialist urged female entrepreneurs to do regular audit of their IP, create a policy that guides their IP, desist from using copyrighted work as their own and must always read all contracts carefully.

“There are some investors who would want to hide IP clauses in their contracts, female entrepreneurs need to be very careful about this”, he expressed.

Another panelist, Susan Musyoka, noted that female entrepreneurs should embed their IP into their business strategy to foster creativity in their business.

In her submission, Omotayo Queen Onakoju, the head of Legal at EbonyLife Studios, explained that female business owners should not be tempted to download free online materials and use it for marketing purposes as this constitutes copyright infringements.

“Copyrighted works have two rights- moral and economic. These two go hand in hand and cannot be separated. To use any copyrighted work, they must be given the due credit and must also be paid for it”, she noted.

The post ImpactHER: Experts Identify Role of Intellectual Property in Business Success appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The application security SaaS company, Indusface, was intrigued to delve into this further and uncover the most common data that professionals are sharing with AI and the implications this can have on individuals and businesses.

Some of the findings:

1. Work-related files and documents: 

One of the most common categories of information shared with AI is work-related files and documents.

Over 80% of professionals in Fortune 500 enterprises use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to assist with tasks such as analysing numbers, refining emails, reports, and presentations.

However, 11% of data employees paste into ChatGPT is strictly confidential, such as internal business strategies, without fully understanding how the platform processes this data. It is therefore recommended to remove sensitive data when inputting search commands into AI tools.

2. Personal details:

Personal details such as names, addresses and contact information are often being shared with AI tools daily. Shockingly, 30% of professionals believe that protecting their personal data isn’t worth the effort indicating a growing sense of helplessness and lack of training.

Access to cybersecurity training has increased for the first time in four years, with 1 in 3 (33%) participants using it and 11% having access but not utilizing it.

For businesses to remain safe from cyber security threats, it is important to carry out cybersecurity training for staff, upskilling on the safe use of AI.

3. Client or employee information:

Client information including data that may fall under regulatory or confidentiality requirements is often being shared with AI by professionals.

For business owners or managers using AI for employee information, it is important to be wary of sharing bank account details, payroll, addresses, or even performance reviews as this can violate contract policy and lead to organisation vulnerability due to any potential legal actions if sensitive employee data is leaked.

4. Financial information:

Large language models (LLMs) are often used and are crucial AI models for many generative AI applications, such as virtual assistants and conversational AI chatbots. This can often be used via OpenAI models, Google Cloud AI, and many more.

However, the data that helps train LLMs is usually sourced by web crawlers scraping and collecting information from websites.

This data is often obtained without users’ consent and might contain personally identifiable information (PII).

Other AI systems that deliver tailored customer experiences might collect personal data, too. It is recommended to ensure that the devices used when interacting with LLMs are secure, with full antivirus protection to safeguard information before it is shared, especially when dealing with sensitive business financial information.

5. Passwords and access credentials: 

AI models are designed to provide insights, but not safely secure passwords, and could result in unintended exposure, especially if the platform does not have strict privacy and security measures.

Avoid reusing passwords that may have been used across multiple sites as this could lead to a breach on multiple accounts.

The importance of using strong passwords with multiple symbols and numbers has never been more important, in addition to activating two-factor identification to secure accounts and mitigate the risk of cyberattacks.

6. Company codebases and intellectual property (IP):

Developers and employees increasingly turn to AI for coding assistance, however sharing company codebases can pose a major security risk as it is a business’s core intellectual property.

If proprietary source code is pasted into AI platforms, it may be stored, processed, or even used to train future AI models, potentially exposing trade secrets to external entities.

Businesses should therefore implement strict AI usage policies to ensure sensitive code remains protected and never shared externally.

Additionally, using self-hosted AI models or secure, company-approved AI tools can help mitigate the risks of leaking intellectual property.

The post Top 6 Personal Data Professionals Share with AI … the Potential Backlashes  appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, the President of the Diplomatic Conference, who is also Brazil’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, brought down the gavel to mark consensus approval of the new WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.

WIPO delegates at the May 13 – 24, 2024 final stage negotiations cheered and applauded the successful outcome.

This is the first WIPO Treaty to address the interface between intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge and the first WIPO Treaty to include provisions specifically for Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.

The Treaty, once it enters into force with 15 contracting parties, will establish in international law a new disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge. A signing ceremony is scheduled for later today.

Negotiations for this Treaty began at WIPO in 2001, initiated in 1999 with a proposal by Colombia, where discussions were notable for their inclusion of Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang welcomed adoption of the Treaty and congratulated negotiators on the successful outcome of the Diplomatic Conference, noting:

“Today we made history in many ways. This is not just the first new WIPO Treaty in over a decade but also the first one that deals with genetic resources and traditional knowledge held by Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities. Through this, we are showing that the IP system can continue to incentivize innovation while evolving in a more inclusive way, responding to the needs of all countries and their communities.”

Mr. Tang added:

“This agreement by consensus is not just the culmination of a 25 year negotiating journey, but also a strong signal that multilateralism is alive and well at WIPO. I thank all of the negotiators, past and present, who worked tirelessly these last two weeks as well as in the past few decades to make history today.”

Ambassador Patriota called the new Treaty “a very carefully balanced outcome of this Diplomatic Conference. It constitutes the best possible compromise and a carefully calibrated solution, which seeks to bridge and to balance a variety of interests, some very passionately held and assiduously expressed and defended over the course of decades.”

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for 25 years,” said Ambassador Patriota.

What Does the Treaty Do?

• Broadly, where a claimed invention in a patent application is based on genetic resources, each contracting party shall require applicants to disclose the country of origin or source of the genetic resources.
• Where the claimed invention in a patent application is based on traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, each contracting party shall require applicants to disclose the Indigenous Peoples or local community, as applicable, who provided the traditional knowledge.

What are Genetic Resources and associated Traditional Knowledge?

• Genetic resources are contained in, for example, medicinal plants, agricultural crops, and animal breeds. While genetic resources themselves cannot be directly protected as intellectual property, inventions developed using them can, most often through a patent.
• Some genetic resources are also associated with traditional knowledge through their use and conservation by Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities, often over generations.
• This knowledge is sometimes used in scientific research and, as such, may contribute to the development of a protected invention.

[Source] + [Featured Image Credit]

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What is intellectual property?

Intellectual property is the original creative tools developed by a business. They are mostly intangible assets such as literary works, brand names, logos or designs, and invented products and services.

Every original brand of products and services brought into limelight by a business owner into a marketplace falls under the intellectual property  of the business.

Intellectual property helps to set apart a business from its competitors. Therefore, it is very important for every business to protect these intangible assets in order not to always encounter legal problems.

What is Intellectual Property Rights?

Intellectual property rights refers to the legally approved rights that protects the intangible assets of the business.

Intellectual property rights is the catalyst tool for innovation sustainability, strategic growth, revenue influx, and partnerships.

Types of Intellectual property rights of a business

1. Trademark Registration: This is the most popular type of intellectual property rights. It is the registration that helps to distinguish a brand of products and services from other similar brandsin the business environment.

Trademark helps the brand of a business to gain a brand identity in the marketplace. One can easily identify a fake product from the original product because of the distinctive registered mark.

2. Patent Registration: Patent registration is the protection of business inventions. This invention must be unique and exclusive to the originator otherwise, there will be no registration.

3. Copyrights: This is the protection of the original literary works of a business. These literary works could be originally developed advert, lyrics and songs or movies, journal and articles  on social media platforms that solely belong to the business.

The importance of Leveraging Intellectual Property for Business Growth

1. Brand Identity: Building a unique brand of products and services that can serve the needs of customers or a percentage of customers, helps it to stand out from other general products and services in a saturated market. The business will have to carve out a brand name or design that can be used to differentiate the brand from other products.

Customers would always want to deal with a trusted brand rather than imitations if they are able to spot the difference.

2. Trust: Protection of intangible assets will always lead to trust of the business by customers. It shows the product or services are  authentic.

It will lead to the removal of product imitations from the marketplace:

We all know that most products or services always have adulterated product packages waiting in line to be sold to buyers. These fake products are sold way more cheaper than the original products and without the protection of the trademarks that covers these products, the business may run into financial losses.

3. Franchising: Intellectual property rights can allow the sale of the same model of business to another person. This type of business operation is called a Franchise.

A franchiser simply sells his or her business to a franchisee who in turn must follow every detail of the existing business inclusive of the intangible assets the business owns in exchange for a fee.

4. It helps to keep the business out of court cases: When businesses fail to protect their intangible assets on time, they may not get the opportunity to use the same name or logo when a competitor in a similar line of business decides to use the same trade name as its trademark. So, it’s always important for a business to seek the services of an intellectual property expert for proper advice.

Conclusion

Intellectual property is part and parcel of a business. Trade secrets must be fully protected in order not to get exposed to competitors.

The protection of intangible assets of a business will always improve the brand reputation and increase revenue inflow.

Only a handful of business owners seek the protection of their original brands and literary works. Therefore, it is always important for all stakeholders to always seek expert advice from an intellectual property practitioner.

Also, enforcement of these intellectual property rights through the institution of legal actions can lead to the removal of mischief makers of fake products and services from the market.

[Featured Image Credit]

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Starting and running a business can be one of the most daunting tasks anyone can take on in the world and especially in Nigeria.

There are several things you focus on as an entrepreneur and want to get over the line.

However, while racing to ship out products, get your team sorted, raise funds, and run the business, it is important to keep track of your intellectual property assets while staying afloat.

Having been in the technology ecosystem advising startups and businesses for the last 15 years, below are some of the mistakes founders make and steps you can take to avoid them:

1. Disclosing You Innovative Ideas Online before Registering them

One major requirement for making sure an idea is innovative and original is that it is not in the public domain.  Between technological developments and the internet, it becomes difficult to balance the requirement of originality and novelty once a business owner has either made a presentation about an idea or published it online without first getting a patent on the same.

This invariably can prevent a founder from enjoying the competitive advantage that would have been available through filing for proper Intellectual Property (IP) protection.

To avoid transferring knowledge to competitors for free without any means of control, it is important to take necessary steps in filing to protect your IP before putting it in the public domain.

2. Failure to Conduct Research on an Area Before Investing Time and Effort in It

Ideas are like waves hitting someone else around the same time you are getting the inspiration. The moment favours whoever takes steps to register, implement or work on the ideas first.

To avoid “going Red Ocean” and “reinventing the wheel”, it is important to conduct patent mapping analysis before investing a substantial amount of time and effort into a project or product.

A landscape analysis will show if the idea has been originally protected, if there is an area that can be improved on or if it would lead to an exercise in futility.

3. Failure to Conduct a Patent, Trademark or Design Search

In most jurisdictions, governments keep registers of all patents, trademark or design applications made.

In Nigeria, the Patent Registry has a robust database that can be accessed by anyone desirous of registering intellectual property in order to search if what is about to be registered is under protection of another person.

So, whether it is an invention (patent), a product or service name (Trademark) or a creative design, it is advisable to get a detailed search done under necessary registers or databases.

This will show if there is already a patent or idea registered or if there is a pending application which may require a change in approach for the IP protection.

4. Building a Company on People’s Innovation

Several founders we have consulted for, have built their businesses on IP that are either registered in the name of one of the founders or a Third-party name and not in the company’s name.

The business is invariably built on an asset that clearly does not belong to the company but a promoter.

The promoters often register the invention in their own name and then license the invention to the entity for rental value.

Inasmuch as this is a smart way for the promoters of the business to ring-fence their investment in the entity, it is not very beneficial for a business that is planning to raise funds from investors later.

A company with licensed rights to inventions cannot list such inventions as part of its IP assets which may later have a negative impact on its valuation and worth.

5. Building Startups with Employer or Research Orgaisations’ Resources

When this happens, it is often a case of Innovation without rights. Here, it’s possible a founder has built his product on an existing product he worked on when he was a student or a researcher in an academic institution.

It is very possible to assume having rights on the innovation by virtue of being the inventor and in view of the time spent adding knowledge or building on the idea.

However, it is important for the entrepreneur to ensure he is entitled to use the innovation either through a negotiated license with the University or co-filing of the application for joint ownership.

6. Uncertainty Around IP Ownership Provisions in Employment Contracts

The common rule adopted is that works, research and inventions discovered while in gainful employment or under contract of an employer belongs to the company.  Lately however, employees have argued under certain jurisdictions that works or inventions discovered are as much of their right as the company’s.

These uncertainties in employment contracts have presented situations where companies that financed research are not able to benefit from the fruits of the projects they financed.

To clear this ambiguity, it is advisable for founders to introduce IP ownership provisions in contracts, either for employees, Co-founders or even works outsourced to external partners.

7. Lack of Proper IP Documentation and Tracking

Building a product and not tracking or making proper documentations of the processes, the drawings, records of white board sessions, correspondence between lawyers and the registration agents is another fatal mistake founders make.

A systematic capturing of the events and research conducted before an invention that can be subjected to patent is important.

The whole process is essential in the event that there is any party contesting the authenticity of the application, ownership of the inventions or query as to the date.

Proper documentation of these processes is crucial in forming an IP strategy for the start-up and maintaining a data room in the organisation.

8. Failure to Maintain a Budget for IP Protection & Neglecting to Use Experts

It is a known fact that it is costly to maintain an IP war chest or continuously spend to register all the IP assets a company may have in the early days of the start-up.

As a start-up that is more bothered about maintaining the running of the company and operations, allocating enough resources to IP filing maintenance and keeping all registration up to date may be a daunting task.

Due to the scarcity of resources, it is typical for entrepreneurs to cut back on IP funds, defer filing for IP or opt for cheaper service providers rather than use experts in registering IP assets.

It is however important to note that a poorly drafted IP application can have a more fatal implication than not filing at all.

It is important for founders to carefully budget for costs of securing IP and maintain a habit of cautiously securing registrations that are necessary for the growth and increasing asset base of the company.

Conclusion

The focus of founders in the early days of running a business is beyond checking if the IP assets of the company are up to date, or confirming if all the necessary documentation that require registration are in place prior to filing.

Also, majority of the tasks we have highlighted above may be difficult for entrepreneurs to track when still trying to maintain a viable business.

What we do at The Nest Innovation Park through our Foundry Product is to develop an electronic business checklist for entrepreneurs to track areas where there is an issue and recommend solutions through the Technology Innovation Support Centre (TISC) on best ways to solve such issues.

The TISC is a partnership between World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and organisations such as The Nest designed to help Founders and entrepreneurs solve problems, they may face around their intellectual property demands and overall protection of their assets.

The post Top Intellectual Property Mistakes SMEs, Entrepreneurs Should Avoid appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

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With a relatively stable macroeconomic environment, sustained investor confidence, and a fast-expanding services sector, Kenya has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa and the largest in the East African region by way of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

To maintain its lead, the Kenyan government is looking to technology and innovation as a strategic driver of new business development, job creation, and socio-economic growth.

ALSO READ: How Youth innovation can Unlock $443 million for Ekiti State

Considered one of Africa’s ‘Big Four’ innovation ecosystems, Kenya has made good progress in this regard, registering 250% growth year-on-year between 2020 – 2021 in terms of startup funding raised.

However, to maximise the impact potential of startups and innovative entrepreneurs, Kenya requires a coherent and thriving Intellectual Property (IP) regime – which it currently lacks.

As a working definition, IP refers to the set of legal rights that protect creative and innovative works.

In Kenya, IP rights are protected by the Kenyan Industrial Property Act (KIPA), which establishes the Kenyan Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) as the national agency responsible for the registration, administration and enforcement of IP.

In doing so, KIPA and KIPI aim to support innovation and creativity by allowing creators and owners to control how their works are used and to receive financial rewards for their creations.

At a national level, IP has come a long way in the political arena, with the 2010 Constitution of Kenya granting it constitutional status and making it on-par with policies around the world.

Yet, while the Kenyan Intellectual Property regime may meet international standards, it remains a complex and controversial issue in Kenya, which – according to business owners at the coalface of Kenyan innovation – is leading to a net loss in innovation.

This was revealed during a series of roundtable discussions hosted in partnership between the Association of Countrywide Innovation Hubs (ACIH) and Global Alliance Africa, a project of Innovate UK KTN that drives knowledge transfer and collaboration that foster long-lasting, strategic partnerships between Kenya and the UK.

Among the most pressing issues in Kenyan IP is the lack of awareness: Many people in Kenya, including small business owners, entrepreneurs and creators may not be aware of their rights or how to protect them under current IP laws. For those that are aware, the costs of registering and protecting IP rights in Kenya is a barrier for many small businesses and entrepreneurs, with many lacking the resources needed to invest in the necessary legal fees and procedures.

For those innovators with the knowledge and resources to protect their IP, another challenge comes in the form of KIPI itself – the agency responsible for administering and enforcing IP rights in Kenya – which has limited resources and is unable to effectively address all IP-related issues.

Thus, offenders often face little to no consequence for contravening Intellectual Property laws, which further discourages innovation and investment into IP-based industries.

To overcome these challenges, there are several next steps that Kenyan stakeholders should consider:

First, we need to encourage and make it easier for innovators to protect their work through trademarks, patents and copyrights.

This begins with connecting idea holders to the various organisations in Kenya that offer funding, training, and networking support, as well as legal assistance. Doing so takes us a step towards ensuring that their creative works are recognised and valued, and that they can benefit from their innovations.

ALSO READ: A New Year’s Resolution for SA’s Energy Crisis

Secondly, we need to help innovators to explore licensing and partnership opportunities, whereby Kenyan innovators can collaborate with other companies or organisations to develop and commercialise their products and services, and in doing so, help to bring their ideas to market.

Collaborating with other innovators, researchers, and industry experts can also help to create a supportive ecosystem for innovation and can include sharing knowledge, resources, and expertise and working together on joint projects or initiatives.

Lastly, we need to catalyse engagement between innovators, stakeholders and policymakers in Kenyan Intellectual Property .

In doing so, the ecosystem will have a channel in which to advocate for reforms and improvements to the IP legal framework that can help to support innovation and creativity.

It is only by collaborating with others, that we can begin to effectively address IP-related challenges in Kenya and align our efforts to increase awareness and education, strengthen enforcement and legal frameworks, and provide more resources and support to those seeking to protect their rights.

 The Global Alliance Africa project is a six-year project funded by UK Aid through Innovate UK (GCRF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

The post It’s Time to Demystify Intellectual Property in Kenyan Innovation appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.