Intellectual Property Advisory Service and Information Centre

LAUNCHING OF THE CEREMONY OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ADVISORY SERVICES AND INFORMATION CENTRE (IPASIC)

Intellectual property (IP) allows you to own things you create in a similar way to owning physical property. One can control the use of IP to gain reward thus encouraging further innovation and creativity.

The Commission of Science and Technology (COSTECH) recently launched the Intellectual Property Advisory Service and Information Centre (IPASIC) which is hosted at the COSTECH offices in Dar es Salaam. The Centre which is said to be one of its kind “North of the Limpopo and South of the Sahara”, has been established with the assistance from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) through its technical assistance to least developed countries mandate.

The Centre was established to enable researchers in Tanzania to use it directly or through network to determine the extent of development in the various areas of technology by reviewing the disclosed information. It provides patent information and also provides researchers and others technical profiles on fields of technology based on patented documents.

Among the objectives of the Intellectual Property (IP) Advisory Service and Information Centre are to promote the national Intellectual Property system and to educate the public concerning the use and usefulness of the system in stimulating technological, industrial and economic development in the country; to provide one-stop advisory services during implementation of the national Intellectual Property system, especially in the areas of patent, trademark industrial designs and copyrights application, Intellectual Property information searches, licensing and commercialization of new technology; to Promote the use of IP information, especially patent information to the R&D and business communities so as to enhance the competitiveness of the agricultural and industrial sectors of Tanzania for national and global markets; and to conduct training courses for various users groups including inventors and IP practitioners in specialized topics such as Intellectual Property registration, patent drafting and licensing of technology so as to expand the base of skilled human resources in the country.

Present at the launching was Mr. Esteriano Mahingila, BRELA Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Birg. General Yadon Kohi, Honorable Basil Mramba, Representative of the Director General of WIPO, Dr. Kifle Shenkoru and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

Below is the link to the speeches and key note addresses by the guests of honour:
http://www.brela-tz.org/htmls/launching.html