National IP Week – Ethiopia
National Intellectual Property Week in Ethiopia held from November 04-09/2024 at Addis Ababa.
The event was organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia with the support of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Authority (EIPA).
On the opening ceremony, November 04/2024, Director General of EIPA, Mr. Woldu Yemessel, Mr. Kunihiko Fushimi, Director, International Classifications and Standards Division WIPO, Ms. Loretta Asiedu, Acting Director, Division for Africa, WIPO, and Mr. Paulos Berga, Deputy Director General, Ethiopian Enterprise Development addressed statements.
The event comprised three national workshops entitled “Intellectual Property for Innovative and competitive small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)”, “Capacity Building and Awareness Raising Seminar for Policy Makers in Ethiopia” and “Institutional Intellectual Property (IP) Policy Development for Universities and Research and Development Institutions”. Local and WIPO Speakers presented variety of topics and discussions were made in each workshop.
Representatives of the Ethiopian Parliament and Higher officials of concerned bodies attended and forwarded messages. Ministries, Federal and Regional government bodies, SMEs, TVETs, Universities R&D, and others participated on the workshops based on the titles.
The event helped to expand promotion of IP and facilitated discussions with Policy makers and stakeholders.
The event undergone during Ethiopia was ratifying the Paris Industrial Property Convention and the Madrid International Trademark Registration Protocol.