Publicly funded research and development institutions need to improve on patenting their works. Since independence the institutions have only applied for the registration of 42 patents, the Assistant Minister for Industrialization, Hon. Ndiritu Muriithi has said.
Muriithi said, “It is time that these institutions recognize that the tax payer want research that is innovation oriented and can lead products in the market and the birth of new companies that can offer jobs to the hundreds of thousands of educated jobless youths.”
He was speaking during the world intellectual property day commended youths for the interest they are showing towards protecting their innovations. He said for the past three years alone, they have submitted to Kenya Intellectual Property Institution (KIPI) more than 38 patent applications individually in the area of telecommunications and ICT sectors.
“What I find very inspiring in the youth is that their research was individually funded compared to universities and other research and development institutions that are funded by the public funds and have only papers to show for it which not many Kenyans have time to read,” he added.
He called upon KIPI to work with these institutions to come up with intellectual property policies to enable them conduct research and strategically focus on how they would come up with innovative ideas and products that can be patented, commercialized into spin off companies that give returns on public investment, in competitive products they would manufacture.
Available data from the ministry of industrialization indicate that out of the 1270 applications for patents in the last 20 years, KIPI has only issued 450 patents. There have also been 280 applications for technical solutions in the same period of time out of which 100 have been granted and 1200 applications for ornamental or aesthetic articles of which 630 were issued.
Muriithi said patents are important as they open the door for licensing, assignment and transfer of technology from developed to developing countries.
On how intellectual property can help in solving challenges facing the country such as food insecurity the minister said the government has put in place appropriate intellectual property systems to promote innovation through research which will lead to production of new varieties of plants that are resistant to drought, pests, diseases, hyper salinity among others.
However, he said food insecurity is aggravated through counterfeited agricultural inputs such as certified seeds, fertilizers and pesticides combating counterfeiting agricultural productivity and enhance environmental conservation.
Prof. Shaukat Abdulrazak, Secretary/CEO, National Council for Science & Technology (NCST) speaking during the event challenged the universities to overcome the emerging culture of copy and paste that is evident in proposal writing to ignite a perpetual fire of innovation and creativity.
Prof. Abdulrazak said lectures need to take the lead in innovation and creativity. He pointed out that of the 12 innovators the council funded in this financial year 90 percent are of young people. “Where are the works of the mentors of these young people?” he asked.
The CEO said Kenyan engineers need to take their rightful position in designing technical solutions. He said no engineer has applied for any grant from NCST in this year financial allocation. He called upon Kenyan engineers and scientist to come together to coordinate science, technology and innovation so as to steer the country into a knowledge driven economy, a middle level income.
He said between 2005 and 2009 Kenya registered 24 patents recognized by UNESCO. He challenged universities to stop the culture of publish or perish and embrace Intellectual Property application and registration “otherwise Vision 2030 will remain a mere pipe dream.”
Sylvance Sange, Principal Examiner, KIPI, said as an institution they providing right mechanisms for Kenyans to protect their creativity and innovation.
Sange called upon the manufactures to make haste and register their industrial and intellectual property rights in the member counties of the East Africa Community so that their products can be protected against counterfeiting from the region.
He said KIPI has embarked on a vigorous public awareness campaign to sensitize the public before their innovations are stolen and registered elsewhere denying them the benefits of their hard work.
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