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18 August 2005

Vice Chancellor, Professor Njabulo Ndebele;
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl de la Rey;
Dean, Faculty of Law, Professor Hugh Corder;
Academia Representatives,
Practitioners in the Intellectual Property (IP) Field,
Ladies and Gentlemen

The National Research and Development Strategy stresses the importance of intellectual property in all knowledge economies as a basis and prerequisite for competitiveness and economic growth. This is also evidenced by the intense debates that are taking place in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) committees. While developing countries, including South Africa, are pushing for the Development Agenda, developed countries are insisting on the Substantive Patent Law Treaty. Historically, granting a patent was a reward bestowed by the state to an inventor in return for making their invention available to the public. Our Patents Act also recognises this premise.

As we enter the modern knowledge economy one of the greatest challenges we face is to develop the ability to extract value and secure benefits from our Intellectual Property regime, the new knowledge that is produced in academic research should be protected and harnessed for the good of society.

Academic research, publications and patents cannot help the poor unless they can be turned into tangible products or improved practices that contribute directly to improving their quality of life. Research resulting in new knowledge, conversion of patents into products and services, and knowledge ultimately leading to innovation is at the heart of the knowledge economy. These are some of the critical ingredients that will ensure the achievement of our government’s objective of generating wealth and improving the lives of our citizens.

One of the key challenges in deriving maximum benefit from the management of intellectual property is to develop a better public understanding about the subject, its value and potential benefits. Of course, the University of Cape Town (UCT) Chair and Research Unit that we are launching today will greatly assist us in responding to this challenge; it will build awareness of intellectual property law in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. And in doing this, it will contribute significantly towards the broader objectives of the African renaissance and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) initiatives. It will also undoubtedly assist in leveraging the advanced South African innovation system as a platform from which a robust African innovation system could be anchored.

As a country that has acceded to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), we need to develop the capacity to engage with confidence in the international arena on these issues. This will enable us to derive maximum benefit out of the treaty, and to negotiate more skilfully and successfully in other IP agreements in the future. Without this capacity, the developed countries will continue to impose their interpretation of these treaties on us.

The experiences of the Department of Health relating to the implementation of the measures contained in the Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act, which were contested by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of South Africa, are a case in point. Ironically, when the departmental team presented their arguments based on their understanding of compliance with TRIPS, the complainants sought to resort to the Property Clause of the South African Constitution in an attempt to achieve what they could not through TRIPS. As we all know, the position of the Department of Health prevailed. This case provides a good indication of the kind of contestation and challenges we can expect when vested interests are threatened, and reinforces what we already know, that we cannot be left behind, and that we urgently need to strengthen our IP management systems.

In our drive as government to strengthen our regulatory framework, we continuously review our policies to assess whether they are sufficiently robust to address the prevailing circumstances. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) works closely with other government departments and affected parties in these processes. A number of policies are currently under review to align our frameworks with the international agreements that South Africa acceded to. Some of the work in this area includes the recent passing by Parliament of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Patents Amendment Bill, and the adoption by Cabinet of the DST Policy on Indigenous Knowledge Systems. The DST is in the process of submitting to Cabinet the Policy Framework on Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Funded Research. The next phase on the development of this policy framework will be public consultations. The establishment of this Chair and Research Unit will complement and enhance the impact of these processes.

When the DST enters the phase of public consultations on the Policy Framework on Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Funded Research, it is reasonable to expect that participants and stakeholders will have conflicting interests. The contributions of this IP Research Unit will prove invaluable to the enhancement of the skills base of IP practitioners and policy makers.

As we strengthen our IP management capacity, we should be mindful of the culture and norms of academic research. In the preamble of the UCT IP Management Policy, you rightly state that the institution is primarily concerned with the education and training of students, and the advancement, preservation and dissemination of knowledge. The robustness of the IP management system should not affect the allocation of funds among disciplines and the content of academic research. The strengthening of our systems should run in tandem with the improvement of their ability to monitor potential distortions that might arise. The question we need to ask is whether an increase in the robustness of the IP management system will result in the shift of university research from basic to applied research.

It is also encouraging to see that our institutions are using their international contacts to collaborate in areas that will advance the competitiveness of our country. Your collaboration with the Mellon Foundation, the University of Edinburgh and others will undoubtedly add great value to the work of the unit. We should, however, ensure that this unit recognises and addresses our specific intellectual property management needs, because interventions based purely on developed country situations may not be feasible or affordable in a developing country setting. The reality is that South Africa is one of a relatively small number of developing countries with the capacity to protect patents, and our own capacity needs serious boosting.

The creation of new knowledge is one thing, but its protection and exploitation is quite another. As IP in the form of patents is a proxy for innovation, it can contribute to the creation of new goods, new services, new jobs and new capital. The application of new knowledge improves productivity and the quality of products. It expands the range of services that can be offered, and extends the geographic distribution of those services. It follows, therefore, that a robust IP system can be a significant building block for the economic prosperity of South Africa.

We believe that the contribution of the DST, through the Innovation Fund, to the establishment of this Chair and Research Unit is indicative of the type of partnerships that are needed to enhance the system of innovation of our country. We urge you to build on these types of partnerships to ensure the achievement of our collective goals.

With those few words, touching on a complex and still much to be debated subject, it is now my great pleasure to declare the Chair and Research Unit in Intellectual Law at the University of Cape Town officially launched!

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
18 August 2005