Geographical Indication (GI) options for Ethiopian Coffee and Ghanaian Cocoa

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Towards University–Industry Innovation Linkages in Ethiopia Universities in Ethiopia were found by this study to be playing only a limited role as research centres for the adaptation of foreign technologies and as sources of knowledge for problems affecting industry. They have weak research capacities, both in terms of infrastructure and qualified manpower. Furthermore, the research activity in these institutions (what little there is of it) was found to be not aligned with the needs of industry, and thus it has little relevance to the economy. University institutional IP policies that prioritise patenting of academic inventions have the potential to further limit the degree and rate of academic knowledge transfer, thus slowing the rate of innovation. The capacity of firms to absorb externally generated knowledge is an equally important issue for facilitating university knowledge transfer. Ethiopian firms are significantly limited in their capacity to seek out and make effective use of externally generated knowledge, due to a lack of investment in building internal research and innovation capacity. Companies depend heavily on minor in-house innovative activities aimed at adapting technologies to specific local circumstances. Moreover, most firms in Ethiopia operate on a small scale and face resource constraints, limiting their capacity to acquire university knowledge through mechanisms that may require some financial investment. In this context, university–industry interactions that require less financial commitment by enterprises will contribute more effectively to the enhancement of technological capacities at the company level. For this reason, making university research available in the public domain could be a more effective way – more effective than the use of IP rights – of improving access to research knowledge by industry. Moreover, the Ethiopian government’s current emphasis, on IP protection for the transfer and commercialisation of publicly funded university research outputs, may have undesired consequences for the innovation process. Patenting of publicly funded university research should be considered the best option only when there is empirical evidence to suggest that other models of knowledge transfer would fail to ensure effective utilisation of the research outputs. This study’s review of Ethiopian government policies clearly found that the underlying IP focus is on building the technological capability of local enterprises, by facilitating their access to improved technologies emerging from university research. The views expressed by the different stakeholders surveyed also emphasised the importance of strengthening the interaction between universities and industry through the flow of university knowledge. But there was a clear view among many of the researcher and industry respondents that the desired strong university–industry nexus is more likely to be achieved through encouraging knowledge transfer via open science methods – such as publications, conference presentations and informal contacts – than via formal technology transfer methods based on IP rights. Therefore, Ethiopia’s government actors and policy 329
Innovation & Intellectual Property community need to look beyond the current IP focus and seek the optimum balance between different models of university–industry knowledge transfer (with IP-related models as but one part of the mix). For a developing country like Ethiopia, technological catch-up requires emphasis on the use of information in the public domain, not emphasis on privatisation of knowledge. The primary focus, therefore, should be on enhancing the research capacities of universities to improve the supply of research outputs with potential applications in industry. Rather than, or at least in addition to, relying on the privatisation of university research through IP, the research environment in universities can be improved by upgrading the skill levels of the researchers, increasing the research budgets, implementing a salary structure that incentivises research, and giving better recognition to the intellectual contributions of academic researchers. Such measures would, in this author’s opinion, enhance universities’ research performance and ensure wider dissemination of university knowledge for the improvement of social and economic returns from academic research. Bibliography Primary sources Statutes, proclamations, regulations Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office Establishment Proclamation of 2003, Proc. No. 320/2003, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa (FDRE, 2003). Higher Education Proclamation of 2009, Proc. No. 650/2009, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa (FDRE, 2009). Proclamation Concerning Inventions, Minor Inventions and Industrial Designs (1995), Proc. No. 123/1995. Transitional Government of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa (TGE, 1995). Policies, strategies Adama University (2010), Strategic Plans, Ethical Codes, Legal Rules and Guidelines for Adama University Research and Postgraduate Studies, Version 1.1, Office of VP for Research and Postgraduate Studies, Adama. Addis Ababa University (AAU) (2011), Research Policy, presented for discussion by academic officers, available at: www.aau.edu.et/index.php/component/ k2/item/2042-aau-academic-officers-discuss-gtp-polices (accessed 15 April 2012). 330
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Innovation & Intellectual Property
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Contents Preface ..................
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Preface This book is among the key
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Preface mandated Train for Trade pr
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About the Contributors Dr Perihan A
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Chapter 2 Frameworks for Analysing
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Geographical Indication (GI) options for Ethiopian Coffee and Ghanaian Cocoa

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