Mr. Bemanya Twebaze has been elected President/Chairman of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Advisory Committee on Enforcement at its 14th session WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement in Geneva, Switzerland on September 2 2019. The Registrar General will be assisted by Ms. Elizabeth Jones of the UK IPO Copyright and Enforcement Directorate and Mr.Ray Meloni, Director of Distinctive Signs of the National Institute for the Defense of Copyright and Intellectual Property of Peru.
Mr. Twebaze formerly served as the President of Paris Union Assembly of WIPO.
This election is a major milestone for Uganda. This has come at a time when Uganda has in place a National Intellectual Property Policy which strengthens the generation, protection, promotion, commercialization and enforcement.
In his acceptance speech after the election, Mr. Twebaze noted that is a great milestone. He added “Enforcement is a key aspect in promoting innovation and creativity in member states and thus the need to balance enforcement of intellectual property with members development priorities”. Mr. Twebaze expressed appreciation to the Director General of WIPO Mr. Francis Gurry for the technical assistance extended to member states in building respect for intellectual property.
The Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) was established by the 2002 WIPO General Assemblies with the mandate to provide technical assistance and carry out coordination in the field of IP enforcement.
The role of the Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) includes:
- Coordinating with public and private organizations to combat counterfeiting and piracy with a view to ensuring a balanced and transparent approach to building respect for IP.
- Carrying out public education including information, education and communication materials customized for youth, students, and the public.
- Technical assistance such as legislative drafting and dispute resolution mechanisms.
- Undertaking National and Regional training programs for all relevant stakeholders including IP offices, enforcement agencies such as customs, prosecutors and the Judiciary.
- Exchange of information and experiences on enforcement issues
Uganda through URSB established an Intellectual Property enforcement unit in 2016 that is comprised of trained Police Officers and its purpose is to enhance enforcement/building respect of intellectual property in Uganda. This initiative has enhanced the efforts to fight against counterfeiting and piracy in cooperation with other enforcement agencies which is a key agenda for this committee and WIPO in general. Since the inception of the enforcement unit, URSB has ceased counterfeit goods and saved business owners of losses worthy 5.5Million Dollars.
WIPO is a UN organization established in 1967 to encourage creative activities and to promote protection of Intellectual Property throughout the world. WIPO’s current membership is 192 states of which Uganda has been a member since 1973.
Who is Bemanya Twebaze?
Mr. Bemanya Twebaze is the Registrar General of Uganda Registration Services Bureau. He holds an Executive MBA from ESAMI, an Honors Degree in Law from Makerere University Kampala, a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre Kampala and he is a Harvard Kennedy School Alumnus.
