Africa Network Meeting 2015
On 17 September 2015, Adams & Adams hosted its 3rd Annual Africa Network Meeting, the biggest of its kind on the African continent, for its partners from across Africa. The meeting brought together sixty leading IP practitioners and administrators – representing most of the territories on the continent. This annual highlight on the Adams & Adams Africa calendar followed the cancellation of the 2014 event on concerns over the threat posed by the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa and the subsequent imposition of travel bans on some African countries. Renowned radio and TV personality and author of the book, Africa Is Open for Business, Victor Kgomoeswana, delivered the keynote address. He highlighted the turn in the economies of the over 30 African countries that he had visited and how IP was best placed to assist in the economic growth being experienced across the continent.
The year’s interruption only served to sharpen the anticipation for this year’s event which saw the support of a number of Registrars from around Africa including South Africa and Ethiopia and the Director General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), Mr Fernando Dos Santos, who was recently voted as one of fifty ‘Most Influential People in IP’ by Managing Intellectual Property. The Director of Communications from the Mozambique Registry was also in attendance on behalf of the Director General of the Mozambique IP Office. Each of the Registrars had an opportunity to share with the delegates the IP developments and challenges within their respective jurisdictions. This tied in with the central theme of the Network Meeting – that of providing Africa’s IP practitioners with a platform for engaging and sharing experiences and, in so doing, creating a network that will further enhance the development of IP on the continent. The Adams & Adams Africa Network (AAAN) continues to evolve, and engagement with our local partners is critical to the development of the African Practice and its resultant benefits for our clients.