Robert Branch from the Ministry of Legal Affairs was among Legal Policy advisors from the region, who gathered in St Kitts to participate in two workshops organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, aimed at developing national strategies and policies on the copyright.
The first workshop opened on Monday 12th and was titled “Developing National Strategies and Policies: New Perspectives on Copyright”. It was followed by a second workshop which began on Wednesday 14 August titled “Representing culture and Creative Industries”. Both workshops were organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Branch, who is a lawyer attached to the Ministry of Legal Affairs, said that the first workshop looked at new issues in the area of copyright and related rights, as well as the administration of copyright within the offices. “The second workshop provided training on negotiation techniques to allow copyright officials to better manage the process relating to establishment of national policies,” he said. The workshops were targeted at senior officials responsible for copyright.
Ms. Sonia Cruickshank, Program Officer, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) based in Geneva and one of the experts speaking at the workshop spoke about the WIPO methodology for developing national intellectual property strategy and the WIPO tool Kit that is used to develop this strategy.
In making her presentation on the WIPO tool, Ms. Cruickshank said that the development of an intellectual property strategy should be multi sectoral involving the different government ministries, universities, research and development centers and business among others.
by Linda Straker
