The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) on Friday hosted a learning webinar for innovators to discuss ways of protecting inventions.
This, as innovators in Uganda and world over respond by developing breakthrough solutions to address local and global needs.
To support such innovators, URSB, held the webinar the theme ‘Innovation during a Pandemic; The need to protect your Inventions’.
URSB Registrar General, Mercy Kainobwisho, while speaking during the session emphasized that Uganda’s thriving creative industry must become increasingly aware of the legal remedies to enable them benefit from the commercialization and protection of their works.
“The growth of our economy is partly dependent on the MSME sector, and together with government, URSB has been taking all necessary measures to spread awareness on the significance of intellectual property rights in protecting and monetizing our creative inventions,” Kainobwisho said.
Dr. Anthony Kakooza, an IP lawyer noted that the role of IP in enabling innovation during this worldwide crisis cannot be understated.
“In Uganda, small and medium enterprises have been the driving force behind many innovations. Successful SMEs have been able to reinforce ideas to create products that consumers want, utilized IP rights to protect them and created value for their business. Underlining the inherent innovative abilities of our creative sector must be encouraged and supported to increasingly adapt IP in business operations, especially considering the emerging technological developments. This will give them the edge to commercialize their work while protecting them,” Kakooza added.
The Manager in charge Patents Industrial Designs at URSB, James Tonny Lubwama on the other hand said protection of innovations would encourage more inventors to works towards solving some of issues from the pandemic crisis.
“Trade mark registrations are often indicative of future business success, establishing stand-out brands and underlining their distinctiveness in the marketplace. Industries that make intensive use of trademarks are the reason IP applications at URSB have been on the increase for the last two years. We encourage more innovators to come to us for protection,” Lubwama told participants.
The webinar was attended by over 200 participants, including senior policy makers, innovators, IP experts from the industry and the legal fraternity who listened in and tendered their feedback on subjects ranging from the need for an increasingly robust IP ecosystem for Uganda to become a knowledge economy, the key role of IP for the growth and success of MSMEs, and the avenues available for IP rights commercialization, among others.
