On Saturday the latest meeting of IP CheckIn was held at CIPIT. IP CheckIn (on Twitter @IPCheckin) is a loose affiliation of Kenyans interested in discussing IP issues, and we gather once per month to discuss current and interesting topics in IP. Usually attended mostly by lawyers, we are always very happy when non-lawyers (typically musicians, inventors, or business people) are present to provide a different viewpoint.
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| Declaration of Independence, John Trumbull 1819 |
First, I am always amazed and impressed that (on average) 20+ people are willing to spend 2-4 hours of their Saturday voluntarily gathering to discuss IP. The tea and mandazi (doughnuts) cannot possibly explain this; there is a passion/curiosity about IP among attendees that is contagious.
The primary topic this month was the creation of an Association of Kenyan IP professionals. Specifically, we discussed several questions:
- Who should be allowed to join?
- What should we call it, and what structure should it have?
What ensued was an engaging and sometimes passionate debate about the state of IP in Kenya, the needs of Kenyan creators and businesses, and how/whether an Association can serve those needs.
There seemed to be consensus that an Association (although I am calling it an “Association” there was debate over whether to make it a Company or a Society, and the conclusion was to form a Company Limited by Guarantee) was a good idea and would provide benefit. An inventor (“layman” by his own words) was present and recounted his experience with IP in Kenya. He was quite happy and excited to learn of the potential formation of an Association.
The most contentious aspect seemed to be over membership issues, i.e. whether to open the Association to anybody with an interest in IP, or whether to restrict to IP Practitioners (with an accompanying debate over what exactly is an IP Practitioner). There was consensus that the Association should have a way of telling the general public that certain individuals are qualified to give advice on IP issues. The idea for a tiered membership was well liked. Anybody can join the Association as a general member, but certain individuals (lawyers, academics, and others with specialized training) will achieve exceptional status and be “certified” as qualified IP Practitioners.
The Association is well underway in conception, and hopefully at the IP Checkin next month we will be able to finalize a Constitution. Comments or suggestions on this will be greatly appreciated and can be sent to CIPIT or posted here.
This was first posted on the AfroIP blog here.
The Association is well underway in conception, and hopefully at the IP Checkin next month we will be able to finalize a Constitution. Comments or suggestions on this will be greatly appreciated and can be sent to CIPIT or posted here.
This was first posted on the AfroIP blog here.
