| About five hundred years ago, generations that lived | | | | much aids and loans they get from foreign agencies. |
| apart did not experience any major change in their | | | | Without IPR, nations cannot innovate and without |
| standard of livings. Global productivity was very low | | | | innovation, any economy dies a natural slow death. IPR |
| and man was generally poor. Yes, there were empires | | | | is the catalyst that drives national technology policy, |
| and kingdoms, but on average the world was on static | | | | making it implementable and sustainable. You cannot |
| economic expansion. | | | | have a better technology policy than a strong IPR. |
| But with emergence of mass penetrated technology, | | | | With strong IPR, inventors could become innovators. |
| things began to change. The industrial revolution was a | | | | Without it, everyone sits on his/her ideas and the nation |
| quintessential moment in modern history. Technology | | | | suffers on productivity. |
| brought productivity and man became richer. Standard | | | | In essence, Global Productivity = Technology + IPR, |
| of living on average improved. It remains till today that | | | | and productivity translates into good standard of living. |
| when technology penetrates en mass in any | | | | When nations cannot create technology, the LHS of |
| economy, national productivity improves, and living | | | | the equation suffers. Also, if they have no IPR, that |
| standards advance. | | | | suffers more. See the reason why Africa is not |
| There is another caveat to this argument. Intellectual | | | | making progress? It is an illusion when boys and girls in |
| property right (IPR) is a cardinal part of this productivity. | | | | Accra, Lagos, and Nairobi use pirated foreign software, |
| Without it, technology will not improve and innovation is | | | | and think they are smart. They never know that it |
| stalled. The old world was an era of absence of IPR | | | | would have been better if their nations have laws to |
| and that contributed to a no small measure to the lack | | | | prevent such illegality. With such laws, they have an |
| of wealth creation. Sure, people invented things in arts, | | | | opportunity of not needing those foreign software by |
| engineering, but there was no wealth created. Lack of | | | | developing their own and selling them locally, profitably. |
| IPR prevented meaningful market success in one | | | | In the absence of the IPR, they cannot do business |
| major way. It prevented the pursuit of innovation since | | | | because immediately they release software in the |
| ideas could be stolen and commercialized with no | | | | market; it appears in all shops illegally. After three |
| penalty. The return to innovation was very low. That | | | | months, they close their shops! It is a vicious cycle that |
| was why the world had many Inventors and few | | | | makes innovation difficult in Africa since no guaranteed |
| innovators. | | | | return exists. Why invest your hard earned money |
| Yes, we read about inventors that developed nearly all | | | | when there is no law to protect your creations? Why |
| the engineering principles in use today. They had ideas, | | | | do research? You see why our businesses prefer to |
| bright people and created prototypes. They were | | | | import and distribute than create things? |
| celebrated as icons and legends. But many died very | | | | Last year in Lagos, I hosted a workshop for some |
| poor. They could not transition from inventors to | | | | technology entrepreneurs. Everyone wanted to know |
| innovators, not because of market issues, but because | | | | how to improve the business climate. I was not |
| lack of IPR made it difficult to attract funding since | | | | interested in the electricity problem. I told them that the |
| there was no guarantee to success. No funding, no | | | | biggest problem is lack of IPR in Nigeria. When boys |
| mass commercialization and no human impact. In our | | | | hawk Microsoft Vista for N300 (about $2) openly and |
| contemporary time, the legendary venture capitalists | | | | no one arrests them, no major creative business can |
| will tell you that if you want to get them involved, you | | | | incubate in that land. I told them that without a strong |
| need to have a protected intellectual property. | | | | enforceable IPR law, someone will eat into their ideas |
| Two things changed the world: technology and most | | | | and they may not succeed, especially if they plan to |
| importantly IPR. Between the two, IPR was more | | | | start making things. My advice to the group was to |
| important. Why? Without it, we would still be | | | | ask government to enforce existing laws and enact |
| celebrating inventors with no impact on human | | | | new ones where applicable. I told them it would be |
| lifestyles (just note that I respect inventors; I am one | | | | difficult for them to have international partners since no |
| myself since I have filed my own patents). | | | | one can risk his/her IPR in Nigerian market. Sure, who |
| That brings me to the African challenge. In many parts | | | | cares what he says? Alas, one emailed me few days |
| of the continent, the IPR there is still like the one that | | | | ago explaining how IPR issues prevented him from |
| existed 500 years ago. It does mean that Africa | | | | concluding a partnership with a Chinese firm. |
| cannot prosper, if my logic is correct, until they get a | | | | Let me stop now. In conclusion, Africa must strengthen |
| practical and working IPR. It does not matter how | | | | its IPR even as it pursues new technology policies. |