African Free Trade Agreements and Intellectual Property (Elgar Intellectual Property and Global Development series)

This informative book examines the intellectual property (IP) provisions of the sub-regional, continental and international Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that have been implemented by African countries to facilitate trade and promote economic integration. Michael Blakeney and Getachew Mengistie Alemu explain how FTAs can be used when setting IP standards in order to influence the ongoing effort to develop effective international agreements with Africa.

African Free Trade Agreements and Intellectual Property details the national, sub-regional and continental structure of African IP laws and their relationship to the FTAs entered into by African states and sub-regional groupings. The book explores a broad range of topics including the socio-economic challenges of African countries, the African continental IP arrangements, Agenda 2063, cultural and biodiversity legislation. Looking ahead, the book recommends using IP to better support African countries in relation to biopiracy, access to genetic resources, the equitable sharing of benefits from the exploitation of those resources and the protection of traditional knowledge, cultural expressions and folklore.

This book will be an insightful read for researchers and students specialising in intellectual property law, international economic law, trade law and public international law. Providing an in-depth examination of IP and FTA agreements in Africa, this book will also be of benefit to policy-makers and legal practitioners working in the field.

Michael Blakeney, Winthrop Professor of Law, UWA Law School, University of Western Australia and Getachew Mengistie Alemu, Intellectual Property Consultant, Maryland, US