WIPO Expert Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural...
By Chidi Oguamanam
For the 35th time in 18years, experts have yet again gathered at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headquarters in Geneva where...
Opportunities from Côte d’Ivoire on Plastic Waste and the Blue Economy
By Ahou Rachel Koumi
In 2019, my niece and I enjoyed a two-day outing to the famous beaches of Assinie, in Côte d'Ivoire. I have fond...
Launch of African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project
By Chris Armstrong
Over the course of two days last week, 16-17 February, I and Open AIR colleague Nan Warner participated in the online "Kick-off...
Open AIR Seeks Equitable Solutions to Post-pandemic Innovation Challenges
In 2013, Open AIR published foresight research anticipating a future shaped by shocks like a catastrophic global pandemic. During the decade since, Open AIR...
Reconciling Intellectual Property Rights and African Development: The Right to Development...
By Uchenna Felicia Ugwu
In September 2017, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and the Centre for Human Rights (CHR), Faculty of Law University of Pretoria gathered together...
Three Centuries and Counting: The Emergence and Development of Intellectual Property...
Authored by: Caroline Ncube. This chapter provides an historical account of the development of IP on the African continent which highlights how the introduction of IP systems and their transposed legislation displaced existing knowledge governance systems and entrenched a primarily extractor-biased IP system.
Makerspace Sustainability: mAkE Project Launches Open Catalogue of Business Models (OCBM)
By Chris Armstrong
The African European Maker Innovation Ecosystem (mAkE) Project, of which Open AIR is part, has launched its Open Catalogue of Business Models (OCBM)....
La guerre des vaccins et les droits de propriété intellectuelle
Par Abdelhamid Benhmade
En Octobre 2020, l’Afrique du Sud et l’Inde ont proposé aux États membres de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) de suspendre les...
Traditional cultural expressions preservation and innovation: The Tonga Baskets of Zambia
By Charlene Musiza
The marketing of traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) – which are manifestations of traditional culture such as handicrafts, sculptures and performances – presents...
A Reflection on the Gendered Perspectives of the Innovation Paradigm in...
By Ghati Nyehita
My ongoing Open AIR, Queen Elizabeth Scholar - Advanced Scholars (QES-AS), research project discusses the extent which South Africa’s copyright and design laws...













