ACTA & Access to Learning Materiols In Morocco: An Examination of How ACTA Impacts the Creation of a Moroccan Orphan Works Regime

This paper briefly examines the current regime of copyright law in Morocco and seeks to examine the status of orphan works in Morocco, in lieu its membership as the sole African country in the recently signed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The paper concludes that Morocco can, and ought to, enact exceptions and limitations that facilitate meaningful access to orphan works in both analogue and digital formats

Pre-incorporation contracts: statutory reform

South African company law is undergoing a major two-stage overhaul that will culminate in the coming into force of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. The first stage was completed with the coming into force of the Corporate Laws Amendment Act 24 of 2006 on 14 December 2007 (Proc 47 GG 30594 of 14 December 2007) and the second stage will be completed with the coming into force of the Companies Act, 2008. This Act has been assented to by the President and was published for information on 9 April 2009 (GN 421 GG 32121 of 9 April 2009)

Intellectual property framework responses to health emergencies – options for Africa.

We debate whether intellectual property (IP) protection of medical products and devices required to prevent, treat and contain COVID-19 should be waived, as proposed by South Africa and India, under the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Agreement on Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). We discuss existing public policy mechanisms under the TRIPS Agreement and how these have been implemented at national level in Africa, and find that these have proven inadequate and that they have been sub-optimally implemented. We then consider the TRIPS Waiver proposal which has been tabled due to the inadequacy of existing mechanisms and outline the EU’s counter proposal which is founded on existing mechanisms. Both proposals have served at multiple WTO council meetings and would have been the subject of the 2021 WTO Ministerial Conference, which was postponed and is now set to be held in June 2022. Meanwhile, the proposal has been the subject of negotiations between India, South Africa, the EU and the USA (‘the quad’) and, as of May 2022, has been opened for consideration by all Members. Whatever the outcome of WTO deliberations, African states must take necessary national IP regulatory reforms and cooperate at sub-regional and continental level to improve access to medical products and devices to meet their citizenry’s healthcare needs.Significance:• There is need for a sustainable and comprehensive intellectual property framework that is responsive to health emergencies. Existing public policy mechanisms have not proven effective.• Adaptation and innovation are required at the international norm-setting level as evidenced by the two inprogress proposals for a TRIPS Agreement waiver and for an International Treaty on Pandemics. Both are contested and may only actualise in the medium to long term.• In the context of such uncertainty and delay, timely action should be taken at national level, through legislative reform coupled with necessary manufacturing capacity, which will be boosted by cooperation between African states

The politics of national intellectual property policy design and the provision of health services in South Africa

The position that states take in the international sphere on health and intellectual property (IP) policy matters is influenced by their national experiences and positions. Similarly, the national arena is influenced by global health diplomacy. This paper seeks to examine how this iterative relationship has played out in South Africa in relation to patents, pharmaceuticals and access to medicines. It has been shown how the main African health diplomacy perspectives may be classified around the narratives of ‘unity and ubuntu’, ‘liberation ethic and demands of nationhood’ and ‘development aid or development policy’. This paper focuses on how these narratives have found expression in national discourse. In particular, it considers a recent interchange between the Minister of Health and a pharmaceutical company association in relation to their views on the draft National Intellectual Property (IP) Policy’s chapter on IP and public health, which commonly became known as "PharmaGate". The paper utilises discourse analysis methodology to consider this public discourse which was disseminated via radio stations and television, as well as print and digital media

Identity theft in South Africa

Paper presented by Ncube for the Privacy Workshop, chaired by Edwards and held in September 2005

Beyond the Marrakesh VIP Treaty: Typology of copyright access-enabling provisions for persons with disabilities

This paper builds upon the evidence drawn from a scoping study on access to copyright works by persons with disabilities. It identifies and discusses specific access‐enabling technologies for persons with aural, cognitive, physical, and visual disabilities and how they are affected by the exercise of exclusive rights. It shows how, and the extent to which states\u27 ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty) has enabled the making of accessible format of copyright works for persons with disabilities. To this end, the paper examines patterns and trends of accessible format enabling provisions in the copyright laws of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states

Beyond the Marrakesh VIP Treaty: Typology of copyright access-enabling provisions for persons with disabilities

This paper builds upon the evidence drawn from a scoping study on access to copyright works by persons with disabilities. It identifies and discusses specific access‐enabling technologies for persons with aural, cognitive, physical, and visual disabilities and how they are affected by the exercise of exclusive rights. It shows how, and the extent to which states\u27 ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty) has enabled the making of accessible format of copyright works for persons with disabilities. To this end, the paper examines patterns and trends of accessible format enabling provisions in the copyright laws of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states