The business impact of intellectual property laws in South Africa
7/06/2010

A new study, released today, documents how intellectual property laws in South Africa impact on and influence business operations in the country.

The analysis was conducted by Nthabisheng Phaswana and Dario Tanziani from the law firm Adams & Adams, and reported in their publication, The Business Impact of Intellectual Property Laws in South Africa.

The results of this in-depth analysis have international implications, as many nations are struggling with their current intellectual property laws, trying to keep pace with fast-moving technological advances.

The first section, “Intellectual Property and Foreign Direct Investment”, concludes, “…foreign investment from developed economies into developing economies goes hand in glove with the protection of intellectual property”.

The second section addresses “Intellectual Property and Research and Development (R&D)”, specifically citing the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research Bill (2010) to ensure that the results of publicly funded research are translated into innovative products and businesses.

The third section, entitled “Intellectual Property and Job Creation”, provides a case study demonstrating how intellectual property has the potential to create jobs.

The study concludes with a section called “South Africa’s Progress in Respect of Intellectual Property,” which cites the country’s efforts to create an intellectual property regime that is conducive to business growth and economic development.

Phaswana, an attorney since 2005, is Senior Associate in the Africa Patents Section of Adams & Adams, one of South Africa’s largest law firm, with offices in four cities.

Dario Tanziani became a registered patent attorney in 1988 and is currently chairman of the firm.

The paper was originally published on the Beyond the First World website.

This paper is an extract copyrighted from the forthcoming book entitled Intellectual Property, Innovation, Management in Emerging Economies (Routledge, September 2010), edited by Doctor Ruth Taplin and Professor Alojzy Z. Nowak. For further information on the book, please email Dr Taplin on ruth.taplin@btinternet.com.

Beyond the First World is a non-profit project, established in March 2010. Its mission is to contribute to international economic growth and development by improving the management of intellectual property and technology transfer through the publication of news and best practices.

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