The Socio-Economic Impact of Intellectual Property Rights Regime of Ethiopia
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Date
2012-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Intellectual property rights are believed to have direct role in facilitating the development
efforts of a particular country by encouraging investment in inventions and by
establishing secured property system. The now advanced countries and the newly
industrialized countries used to design their IPRs laws in tune with their technical and
economic needs. They do so, by violating foreign rights, by using petty-patents and
encouraging imitation, adaptation and reverse-engineering. However, means available
during those times are blocked by harmonization of intellectual property rights through
multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements. There are also ongoing harmonization
efforts. The flexibilities for policy options are impoverished by these movements.
Catching up efforts by technologically non-proficient or non-industrialized countries is
becoming increasingly difficult. Their low technological capability demands them to
tailor intellectual property system that helps technological knowledge develop within
them by encouraging learning by doing and accumulation of knowledge. Compared to the
historical, theoretical and empirical lessons, the current Ethiopian intellectual property
laws, are aiming to encourage local inventive activities, build national technological
capability and transfer and adaptation of foreign technologies by domestic enterprises.
Ethiopia should, therefore, strongly implement its IPRs laws in a way that can contribute
to its development efforts and enhance technical learning and accumulation of knowledge
by domestic enterprises via increased exposure to foreign technologies.
In brief Ethiopia should consider the intellectual property rights immense role of
Innovation and Creativity in development
• Key to development in today's knowledge economy
prosperity & sustainability of a country & its development is no longer
based on natural resources but on intangible assets such as innovations and
creative works
essential tool to enhance competitiveness and ensure market leadership
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• Innovation and creative works are valuable assets.
Significance of assets can be seen by looking at:
the change in indicators of wealth
share of intangibles in company’s assets and
The growth in international trade
Contributing Factors for an effective Innovation System are:
The amount of financial resources that companies and the government allocate to
Research and Development activities
• The financial system is a key feature of the general investment climate and is
particularly important for the creation of new firms.
• The availability of Microfinance and for financing of more risky but potentially
innovative enterprises is key.
The availability of Skilled man power in the country /Human Capital /Human
Capital provides the perhaps most important pillar for a dynamic innovation
system.
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Keywords
development in today's knowledge economy, prosperity & sustainability of a country