Africa and Climate Change Technologies

An interesting 3-day conference just concluded at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.  Simply titled “Conference on Climate Change and Innovation in Africa”, the host was the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC).

The Portrait of Dr. Simarro at the Microscope
Joaquín Sorolla y Batisda, 1897

According to their website, “The Kenya CIC is an initiative supported by the World Bank’sinfoDev and is the first in a global network of CICs being launched by infoDev’s Climate Technology Program (CTP). “  The KCIC mission is “to provide an integrated set of services, activities and programmes that empowers Kenyan entrepreneurs to deliver innovative climate technology solutions” (emphasis mine). The World Bank and the UK and Danish governments (via the funding agencies UKaid and Danida, respectively) are major sponsors of KCIC.

It is appropriate that KCIC is housed at Strathmore University, because Strathmore has been recognized for producing the first three green (LEED certified) buildings in Africa. Other green buildings have followed, including the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) building and a private bank building, both in Nairobi. Indeed the UNEP building is said to have Africa’s largest on-roof solar installation.

Does such activity suggest that technology transfer is alive and well in the construction and green technology industries in Kenya?  To some degree, probably so, but at least the Strathmore buildings were designed by a local architect, and there is little evidence (from this blogger’s observations) that advanced or new green technologies were employed. Most buildings in Nairobi use very little energy because the mild climate makes heating and air conditioning unnecessary. Extensive natural lighting (the entire roof is glass) further reduces energy use but is hardly an advanced technology.  Water reclamation, too, is nothing new.

Indeed, the EPO and UNEP recently published an extensive report on Clean Energy Technlogies (CET), patents, and tech transfer. Says the report “The results show that less than 1 % of all patent applications relating to CET have been filed in Africa.” Such little patenting activity suggests that tech transfer of CET to Africa (when it occurs) is likely in the form of aid or as a donation from the inventor/patentee, as opposed to licensing or collaborative agreements with African companies and governments.  

Getting back to the conference, WIPO was a major sponsor and provided a practical seminar for licensing out technologies. This follows the KCIC mission of empowering Kenyans to “deliver” technology solutions. I love this mission, because it shifts the conversation from traditional aid to support of home-grown technology solutions.

The KCIC is very new (less than 1 year old), so it will be interesting to watch and see whether the initiative actually promotes delivery of local climate change technologies.  At least this blogger wishes the KCIC the best of luck in achieving their mission!

This was first posted on AfroIP here.

Ancient Egypt and IP: old meets new

Two of your newest Leos spent last week in hot, hot Cairo, attending a conference of OpenAIR. This post is not about the conference, but rather about my impression of Egypt: old, and impressive.

Battle of Pyramids
Francois L.J. Watteau, 1798

In California, where this Leo likes to say he originates (technically not true), anything over 100 years old is REALLY old.  Houses over 50 years old garner a lot of sympathy, as most people assume the owner is too poor to raze the house and build something modern and hideous.

In Kenya, where this Leo now calls home, anything tangible (i.e., not counting TK or TCEs here) over 100 years old is ANCIENT. Modern Nairobi didn’t exist before 1900. Prehistoric footprints and skeletons abound, but there is precious little in the way of massive free-standing man-made stone structures.

So, as cliché as they are, the pyramids (clocking in at nearly 4000 years old) are really quite impressive and, well, old. What does this have to do with IP? More than you might think.

Perhaps the greatest mystery of all time (other than how many times William Shatner will be able to reinvent his career) is how the ancient Egyptians, without any modern machinery, were able to move 2.3 million blocks of solid rock, each weighing up to 80 tons, into a massive structure that has stood for over four millennia. Did they use ramps? Did they roll the stones over logs?  Alien assistance, perhaps?

Could you ask for a better example supporting the argument that Traditional Knowledge should be categorized and recorded? In view of this tragic loss of information, South Africa’s recent move (Afro IP post here) toward building a database of TK is welcomed.

From a patent perspective (this might be stretching things a bit), I suspect one could still patent the method used for making the pyramids, were it to be determined today. The very public presence of the pyramids would seem to imply inventive step issues, but perhaps not. Secondary considerations, such as “long felt need” or “failure of others”, can be used to overcome an obviousness rejection in the US. Certainly, an enabling disclosure of the method of construction is not known to exist (evidence: thousands of years of speculation, not a single theory is satisfactory or even entirely plausible, etc.).

Finally, perhaps countries should be able to obtain some sort of protection of their national landmarks. Some form of hybrid protection between trademarks and geographic indications would enable Egypt to take action against a certain hotel in Las Vegas, or against Hollywood for countless sci-fi films.

This was first posted on AfroIP here.