Innovation & Intellectual Property: Collaborative Dynamics in Africa

Abstract

'Innovation and Intellectual Property: Collaborative Dynamics in Africa' is an edited volume of real-world case studies examining innovators in nine countries – Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa – across many sites of innovation and creativity including music, leather goods, textiles, cocoa, coffee, auto parts, traditional medicine, book publishing, biofuels and university research.

Various forms of intellectual property protection are explored: copyrights, patents, trademarks, geographical indications and trade secrets, as well as traditional and informal mechanisms of knowledge governance. The studies show that intellectual property can play a positive role in collaborative innovation systems if policymakers prioritise the public interest.