Results of the commissioned survey were summarized during a
BASCAP panel session on day one of a three-day regional workshop entitled “The
Implementation of an Interagency Approach to IP Protection and Enforcement:
Kenya and the East African Community (EAC)” which took place at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in Nairobi on 7–9 August 2012.
The report consolidates available and accessible information
to assess the relationship between IPRs and FDI, illustrate the value of IP
protection and enforcement, and determine the impact of counterfeiting in Kenya.
It also proposes a set of policy and legislative recommendations and explores the
benefits of IP protection in strengthening national economies, driving
innovation and technology, fostering new ideas, and enhancing society and
culture.
“The good news is that IP protection benefits the Kenyan
economy in terms of GDP, employment, tax revenues, development and
competitiveness. IPRs also promote foreign direct investment (FDI) and
technology transfers in developed and developing countries; driving economic growth,”
said Tracy Faustin, BASCAP Project Manager. “The bad news is that Kenya loses
an estimated US$84 million of tax revenues to counterfeiting, an industry with
a value of approximately US$835 million.”
The workshop was organized by the Kenya Anti-Counterfeit
Agency (ACA) and the US Department of Commerce Commercial Law Development
Program, in coordination with the US Customs and Border Protection, US
Department of Justice, US Embassy Nairobi and the US Patent and Trademark
Office.
“Greater recognition to the enormous importance of IP will create
greater respect for IP,” Ms Faustin concluded. “BASCAP is committed to
improving IP protections throughout Africa.”
Through an interactive and interagency approach, the
workshop aims to increase efficiency, consistency, and effectiveness in IP
enforcement and protection in Kenya and the EAC region.
Experts from across the East African region and from US
agencies employed case studies and IP scenarios to engage participants in the
workshop which featured high-level speakers from government and business,
including BASCAP member company Diageo’s local representative, Magdalene
Munyao, Head of Group Brand Assurance for East Africa Region.
“We hope that the
BASCAP policy and legislative recommendations presented today can serve as an
IPR enforcement plan for a government and business working group going
forward,” said Ms Munyao.
BASCAP is an initiative of the International Chamber of
Commerce. BASCAP unites global business to more effectively address IPR issues
and petition for greater commitments by local, national and international officials
for IPR enforcement and protection.
View the workshop's agenda