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ARTICLE · 14 JULY 2023

Navigating IP Rights Issues In The Publicly Financed Research And Development Space

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The South African Government introduced the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act No. 51 of 2008 (the IPR-PFRD Act)...

South AfricaIntellectual Property
Chris Nyarukowa
Chris Nyarukowa
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The South African Government introduced the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act No. 51 of 2008 (the IPR-PFRD Act) in order to provide for effective identification, protection and utilisation of intellectual property (IP) emanating from publicly financed research and development (R&D). The IPR-PFRD Act establishes the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO),1 which is tasked with ensuring compliance with the IPR-PFRD Act. According to this Act, IP is defined as "any creation of the mind that is capable of being protected by law... any rights in such creation... but excludes copyrighted works... in the ordinary course of business, is associated with conventional academic work".2

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