Research

2020 was an eventful year for the whole world, as a public health and economic crisis raged, bringing to the fore the perennial challenge of how to craft and use Intellectual Property (IP) institutions, law, policies and practices, collectively ‘IP frameworks’ to add to efforts to achieve sustainable development, and to consider recovery paths for economies. This coincided with intensified efforts to boost intra-African trade and enhance regional integration through the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)and the entry of the US into negotiations for a bilateral FTA with Kenya. This book engages with this challenge in its six chapters.

This paper sets out findings from a national scan of maker collectives in South Africa. The scan gathered data on more than 20 maker communities across five South African provinces.

By Eslam Shaaban In March 2018, the African Continent Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) was unveiled as the world’s largest free trade area since the creation...

By Natalie Chodoriwsky The Government of Canada’s 2019 Intellectual Property Strategy has committed to “conducting IP awareness and use survey to identify how Canadians understand and...

This paper reviews the methodologies of 16 indices in innovation, information and communication technologies, economic environment, governance, and development.

Par Ahou Rachel Koumi La COVID-19 apparue en décembre 2019 à Wuhan en Chine a atteint tous les continents. La maladie s’est déplacée d’homme à homme,...

By Chidi Oguamanam Buoyed by the July 2022 WIPO 62nd General Assembly decision that endorsed a Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources (GR) and Associated Traditional...

Creativity is a key ingredient in innovation, and the University of Pretoria’s (UP) makerspace screams it from the moment one arrives; the walls are brightly painted orange and green, there are several large tables surrounded by equally bright chairs, and along the back and side walls lay computers, makerbot 3D printers, and, of course, a coffee machine. Currently, UP is the only South African university with a ‘formal’ makerspace, although many, including the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University, are working to establish their own official makerspaces.

Authored by: Jeremy de Beer, Shirin Elahi, Yvonne Ndelle This Working Paper 30 sets out the details of Open AIR's 2010-13 scenario-building process and the...

Authored by: Nagham ElHoussamy and Dr. Nagla Rizk Abstract: This Working Paper sets out findings from research exploring the growing maker movement across North Africa, focusing...