Botswana grapples with embracing IP

The symposium discussed the very difficult questions of definition and ownership of intellectual property, its teaching, and its bearing on the development process in Botswana and internationally. The acknowledgement was made that the subject is very difficult - steeped in law, economics, morality and even politics - but consensus appeared to be that the Batswana  and the Africans would benefit from early engagement with the subject for the sake of the countrys development. RAMPHOLO MOLEFFHE attended and gleaned some ideas from the two days of discussion. 

A two day seminar held early this week at the University of Botswana library in Gaborone observed a screaming lack of 'awareness of the notion of intellectual property' not only among the unassuming producers of cultural goods such as artists but also among the more privileged sections of society, who run government, the private sector and civil society.