By KETRA KALUNGA
RESEARCH has shown that intellectual property rights (IPR) play a critical role in economic growth.
IPR encourages innovation, attracts investments, facilitates technology transfer, and promotes knowledge dissemination and also contributes to economic growth, job creation, and sustainable development.
Experts define IPR as the legal protection given to inventors and creators for their intangible assets such as patents, trademark, copyright and design among others and this results from creations of the human mind.
The Zambian government has revised the National Intellectual Property (IP) policy to ensure that all IP-related activities of government agencies, research institutions, higher learning institutions, and the private sector are implemented.
The policy intends to promote innovation and creativity as well as educate and enable the business community and the general public to understand, manage and protect their intellectual property rights.
Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) says that IPR is critical for economic development and job creation because it encourages further inventions or innovations.
Deputy Registrar for Intellectual Property (IP) Chewe Chilufya defines a patent as a right given to an inventor or creator to stop others from using the invention or creation for a period of time, maximum 20 years before it is reproduced.
Mr Chilufya says patenting inventions and creations is critical for a country because it brings value and money to the economy.
He says the size of an economy is measured by the number of inventions and creations as they give an indication of the economic activities in the country.
Mr Chilufya explains that a country which is strong when it comes to IP laws has a lot of wealth because inventions and innovations lead to a productive country.
“A country with strong IP laws protects those who come up with products and processes and are able to rip rewards that come from their hard work and as a result, there is growth in the economy,” he says.
Mr Chilufya cited a situation in the early 90s where there was a near death of Zambian music due to a lot of piracy and this caused a situation where local music lost value and artists could not rip rewards from their work of mind or IP.
He says the ripple effect on an artist composing music is many to an individual and the economy as it contributes to job creation and national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) among others.
Mr Chilufya says a country benefits a lot from having a strong IP regime because it encourages invention and innovation, thereby creating job opportunities for the people and increasing revenue collection for the Government to drive economic growth.
“Economies such as Japan have grown because of IP, they have produced products which over time have shown what Intellectual property can do,” he says.
Mr Chilufya however says there are low levels of inventions and innovations in Zambia.
He said on average in a year PACRA have less than 15 Zambians filing for patent protection and this is a sign that the country is not doing well with regard to coming up with inventions and innovations critical for economic growth.
Mr Chilufya explains that last year, the agency received only about nine inventions for patent application which is a drop from 19 received in 2022.
“This is a concern because inventions and creations play a major role in economic growth as they help to create employment and increase the revenue base for the Government through tax paid by the people employed,” he says.
The Private Sector Development Association (PSDA) says it is important for a country like Zambia to recognize that IP has value to the private sector.
Association Chairperson Yusuf Dodia says IP is a very important instrument the private sector uses to earn a living, it’s a trademark or design they develop for their businesses that sets them apart from the rest, therefore protecting IP through patenting is extremely important for the sector.
Mr Dodia however says Zambia needs to build capacity to be able to identify, assess and analyse what IPR really is.
He says this is because the country has had situations where a company fights the competitor to a point of closing down the business in the argument that the business in question stole the trademark when in fact it is just similar.
Mr Dodia says this trend works against competition in the private sector which is good for economic growth because it promotes improvement in quality and brings about better pricing of products on the market for the benefit of the consumer.
“If you don’t have competition you are stuck with a substandard product, without competition, businesses force a poor quality and very expensive product on the market and in turn exploit a consumer by subjecting them to paying high prices for products of poor quality,” he says.
Mr Dodia says therefore, competition allows for the players in the private sector to compete with each other and as they do that, they are able to improve the quality of the product and also compete on pricing and in the end the consumer benefits.
To improve the levels of IP in the country, the Government through PACRA will before the end of this year roll out the IP Awareness Strategy to enable citizens to appreciate the importance of IP.
The Agency is also working with the Ministry of Education to include IP in the school curriculum to ensure increased levels of IP in the country.
The strategy aims to encourage Zambians to be creative and innovative and ensure that their work is protected through patenting by promoting knowledge dissemination.
This is envisaged to encourage innovation, attract investments, facilitate technology transfer, and also contribute to economic growth, job creation and sustainable development.
