Trickles and Spouts: Translating Research on Intellectual Properties to Women’s Entrepreneurship

By Esther Ekong I am currently conducting my PhD research about Nigerian women entrepreneurs in ongoing global debates about the role of intellectual property (IP)...

Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Southwest States of Nigeria

By Esther Adekunbi Gender equality is a very important issue in today’s world, while also a fraught debate. Gender equality can be achieved when men and women...

Determinants of Innovation Capability in Informal Settings: The Case of Nigeria’s...

Authored by: Oluseye Oladayo Jegede and Olubukola Esther Jegede Abstract: This study contributes to the growing literature on innovation capability in the informal sector in...

How NOT to Review a Research Paper: Reflections from Harvard Law...

By Jane Ezirigwe In late January, I had the privilege to be selected as one of the scholars to be part of the Harvard Law...

A New Look at High Tech Hubs in the ‘Digital Savannah’:...

This is the first in a series of blog posts highlighting Open AIR’s latest working paper, A Framework for Assessing Technology Hubs in Africa, which will soon be published in the New York University Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. This is the first paper to offer a framework for systematically describing and assessing the emergence of high technology hubs throughout Africa.

Spotlight on Artificial Intelligence – Eastern Africa

AI activities at the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT), at Strathmore University, encompass primarily events and network building. Under the...

Les défis d’étendre Open AIR dans des pays africains francophones

Le travail panafricain comprend plusieurs défis, entre autre la grandeur du continent, sa diversité, les différences juridiques, et la complexité des langues. Les défis sont particulièrement marqués pour l’innovation africaine. Il y a deux organismes régionaux dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle, en plus de l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle, ce qui souligne la diversité et les divisions linguistiques et régionales. Pour Open AIR, un réseau de recherche qui travaille dans de différents domaines de l’innovation et la propriété intellectuelle, on rencontre plusieurs défis à cause de cette diversité.

The Blue Economy and The Need for Open IP

By Eashan Karnik, cross-posted from Smart Prosperity Institute The need to adopt clean energy technologies is a pressing issue not just in Canada, but internationally...

Financing of Innovation

By Eslam Shaaban   For decades, Kodak was a global giant in the photography industry all over the world. Over the past decade, however, their...

Common Misconceptions of Patents in Egypt

Earlier this year, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held a two-day workshop on “Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Use the Intellectual Property System in Their Competitive Strategy” at the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology in Cairo, Egypt, which some of our Open AIR NERG members attended. The goal of this meeting was to discuss how to encourage young innovators to protect their inventions by patenting them at the Egyptian Patent Office. The workshop had vibrant and sometimes heated discussions between these innovators and government officials regarding many of the obstacles faced in the patenting process in Egypt.