2. BACKGROUND
The Intellectual Property Strategy fits in with the efforts being made by the Government of
Mozambique to stimulate Research and Development (R&D), the industrialization of our
country, cultural creativity, an appreciation of local resources and local creativity and, in this
context, the establishment of a legal and institutional framework increasingly designed to
stimulate and consolidate the strengthening of IP in Mozambique.
These efforts are the concrete result of the commitment given by the Mozambican State which,
in the Constitution of the Republic, enshrined rules and principles on the right to creativity and to
the protection of property created by the mind – rules and principles that were then embodied in
a range of legal instruments establishing the legal regime governing the grant and protection of
copyright and related rights, on the one hand, and industrial property, on the other, together with
accession to the principal regional and international legal instruments on IP.
In the context of these efforts, and mindful of the fact that IP constitutes one of the most
important supports for research and development (R&D) activities likely to encourage the
innovation necessary for the competitiveness of enterprises, the government – reaffirming its
commitment to stimulate creativity and protect the fruits of this creativity using mechanisms to
ensure the allocation of rights to exclusive enjoyment and the punishment of unfair competition,
including piracy and infringement – intends to consolidate the existing institutional framework.
Conscious, too, that the creation of these mechanisms is not in itself a guarantee of the
establishment of an efficient system, the government recommends the adoption of an IP strategy
that, in line with the country’s needs and priorities and the resources available, is designed to
produce the best solutions for development and, above all, for fighting absolute poverty.
With this in mind, the Government of Mozambique has already taken a series of initiatives
designed to produce a legal and institutional framework and has undertaken a series of concrete
actions with a view to establishing and developing the intellectual property system.