The Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs through the office of the Registrar General is hosting a team of experts engaged by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In her opening remarks, the Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, also the Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Nthomeng Majara said the team will be part of the technical assistance to Lesotho towards the formulation of a National Intellectual Property Policy and strengthening of the legislative framework for the protection of Intellectual Property (IP).

She added that the team will hold consultations with different stakeholders in the country with the aim to address and identify issues that will be included in the National IP Policy and strategy, saying focus areas will include; policy and related issues, IP administration, IP generation, protection and commercialization, IP education, training and awareness, copyright-based industries and IP enforcement.

It is expected that at the end of the consultations, there will be a multi-stakeholder workshop with the purpose to validate the findings collected from the consultations.

The participants are drawn from government ministries, academic institutions and organisations that provide support services such as Basotho Enterprise Development Cooperation (BEDCO), the Chamber of Commerce and individuals that have successfully protected and exploited IP assets.

The consultations started on February 20 and will end on March 30.

Source: LENA 23/02/2023