Calls Grow for Rethinking Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization’s Mandate Ahead of AMCOST V

In 2006, during an Extraordinary Conference of the African Ministers of Council on Science and Technology held in Cairo, the concept of establishing a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization (PAIPO) was introduced. Since that initial proposal, public discourse on the organization’s structure and scope has been limited.

Recently, a ‘final’ draft statute for PAIPO surfaced, intended for adoption at the 5th African Union Ministerial Conference on Science & Technology (AMCOST V), scheduled for November 12–16, 2012, in Brazzaville, Congo. This draft outlines significant powers for PAIPO to regulate intellectual property (IP) across Africa.

However, the draft statute has drawn criticism for adopting a narrow perspective of IP as an end in itself. Observers note that it fails to incorporate critical public policy objectives that African nations have championed internationally, particularly in areas such as public health and access to knowledge.

In response, a petition spearheaded by Dick Kawooya urges AMCOST V to delay the establishment of PAIPO. The petition emphasizes the necessity for wider consultations involving diverse stakeholders to reconsider the organization’s nature and mandate.

The core demand of the petition is to recalibrate PAIPO’s objectives to ensure alignment with Africa’s broader development priorities, including safeguarding public health and enhancing access to knowledge resources.

This development comes amid ongoing debates on intellectual property frameworks that balance innovation incentives with public interest concerns across the continent.

Infojustice.org, the platform reporting on this issue, is hosted by the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property at American University Washington College of Law, underscoring the academic and policy-oriented engagement with the topic.

The discourse around PAIPO intersects with broader themes such as trade agreements, domestic IP legislation, limitations and exceptions, access to medicines, and multilateral negotiations under WIPO, WTO, and the UN.

Civil society organizations continue to advocate for policies that support public health imperatives, including strong support for TRIPS waivers to combat COVID-19, reflecting the ongoing tension between IP enforcement and public welfare.

As AMCOST V approaches, the outcome of discussions on PAIPO’s statute will be pivotal in shaping Africa’s intellectual property landscape and its alignment with sustainable development goals.