1. Issue
In the present age of globalisation, information has become more mobile and more vital than ever before.
Information is the lifeblood of development, the lifeblood of technology, of products and services, of
Government, and of business. Information is value. It is therefore increasingly important that information is
codified and that its value is recognised. Intellectual property defines the limits under which information in the
form of creations and innovations can be owned and how it can be transferred.
For a low-income country such as Rwanda, the extent of growth in the medium and long-term will be
determined by how our people access and utilise information, how technologies from abroad that suit the needs
of our economy are accessed, and how we innovate and create value within Rwanda. It is therefore vital that
Rwanda has a functioning intellectual property system, to allow people to realise the full value of their
creations, and to allow them to access the creations of others.
In an economy based more and more on knowledge and technology, industrial and technical innovation will be
fundamental to the improvement of citizens’ social and economic conditions. Industrial and technological
innovation enables productivity to be strengthened, new industries and new job opportunities to be created, as
well as strengthening the competitiveness of national companies on global markets. Industrial property
protection also creates a framework for cooperation between universities, research institutions and industry, and
promotes the transfer of technologies to productive sectors.
This Policy is intended to encourage technical innovation, and to promote the industrial and commercial use of
technical inventions and innovations so as to contribute to the social, economic, industrial and technological
development of the country. The grant of exclusive rights to technical inventions and innovations is a means,
for the State of Rwanda to recognise the merits of individuals and companies that make a remarkable
contribution to the country’s economic and technological progress.
2. Background
Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are the rights given to persons over their creative ideas, usually giving the
creator an exclusive right over the use of their creation for a certain period of time. They cover a broad range of
legal rules that govern and regulate the ownership, use and transfer of the subject matter that is protected 1 ,
including:
copyright and related rights (i.e. the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings, broadcasting
organisations and for architectural designs);
trademarks including service marks;
geographical indications including appellations of origin;
industrial designs;
patents including the protection of new varieties of plants;
the layout-designs of integrated circuits; and
undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data.
As Box 1.1 shows 2 , although an abstract concept, intellectual property is more widespread than one might
imagine. For example, a simple jar of coffee can contain a number of elements of intellectual property – from
the contents, to the shape of the jar, to the branding and colours used on the labelling – the producer, in this case
Nestle, is protected in a number of ways from the potential of other firms duplicating its designs.
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2
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_E/TRIPS_e/intel2_e.htm
Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, HM Treasury, United Kingdom, December 2006
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