Intellectual Property Consultative Framework

The department of Trade and Industry has published the Intellectual Property Consultative Framework for public comment. "The purpose of this document is not to prescribe South Africa's IP policy position, but to put forward the perspective of the dti in a consultative instrument to facilitate what will be continuous engagement with governmental partners and society at large. This in our view is the best way to render the formulation of South Africa's IP policy a joint project that adopts a coordinated approach.

South Africa requires a coordinated and balanced approach to IP that provides effective protection of IP rights (IPRs) and responds to South Africa's unique innovation and development dynamics. South Africa's IP Policy must engender the ethos of the Constitution and complement the country's industrial policy and broader socio- economic development objectives. Hence, the IP Policy must be informed inter alia by the Constitution, NDP, the National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF) and the various iterations of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP). It should also be aligned to the country's objectives of promoting local manufacturing, competitiveness and transformation of industry in South Africa."