By FAUSTINE KAPAMA - Judiciary, Dar es Salaam
The International Judicial Colloquium on Intellectual Property Rights, Trademarks and Case Management, which has been organized by the Judiciary of Tanzania in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), entered into the second day today dated June 27, 2024.
In the morning, participant to the colloquium, including Tanzanian Judges, Judges from the British and Kenyan, Deputy Registrars and Magistrates of the Judiciary of Tanzania were taken through in various topics to build their capacity in dealing with matters related to intellectual property.
Deputy Judge of the High Court of England and Wales, Hon. Daniel Alexander was the first to give a presentation on evidentiary requirement and presumptive, followed by Legal Officer from WIPO Judicial Institute, Geneva Switzerland, Ms Ines Fernandez Ulate, who presented a topic relating to digital evidence in trademark disputes.
The third presenter during the judicial colloquium being held at Mwalimu Nyerere International Conventional Center in Dar es Salaam was Kenya's Court of Appeal Justice, Hon. Francis Tuiyott, whose topic was about remedies, urgent measures, civil and criminal remedies.
Yesterday dated June 26, 2024, WIPO Coordinator and Deputy Registrar of the High Court of Tanzania, Hon. Upendo Ngitiri presented a topic on the state of intellectual property court proceedings in the United Republic of Tanzania.
She explained that recently there has been a large increase in cases related to intellectual property, especially those on infringement of intellectual property and trademarks.
Hon. Ngitiri gave various examples of cases decided by the High Court of Tanzania and the Court of Appeal and explained that the Courts, through the decisions they give, have a great contribution in protecting intellectual property.
The Colloquium was inaugurated by the Chief Justice of Tanzania, Hon. Prof. Ibrahim Hamis Juma,who urged Judges and Magistrates to administer intellectual property justice matters efficiently, fairly and consistently in second quarter of the 21st Century.
“We all agree that the 21st Century is fast-paced, with so many new frontiers requiring judiciaries to keep pace. There is no doubt that, in the coming years, intellectual property litigation will continue to break new boundaries,” he said.
The Chief Justice pointed out that driven by rapidly changing modern technologies and artificial intelligence, the second quarter of the 21st Century will witness frontier-breaking creations and innovations.
Hon. Prof. Juma said that judiciaries will increasingly be relied upon to protect the intellectual property rights of the creators, inventors and innovators.
The Chief Justice pointed out that as Tanzania moves towards an upper-middle-income status, the need for more robust protection of intellectual property rights grows.
The Judiciary of Tanzania and WIPO jointly signed a memorandum of understanding on March 5, 2021 for the purpose of cooperating in various areas aimed at improving the provision of justice in the area of intellectual property and the resolution of disputes in court.
WIPO has been cooperating with the Judiciary of Tanzania in various areas that have aimed to improve justice in the area of intellectual property for more than five years.
For the past five years, the Judiciary of Tanzania has made great strides in improving the provision of justice in the area of Intellectual Property matters in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Among the successes resulting from such collaboration are the preparation of guidelines on copyright, trademarks, patents and industrial design. The guidelines are used by Judges and Magistrates as a reference when they are conducting cases related to intellectual property.
From 2022 to 2023, the WIPO provided funding to 250 Judges and Magistrates with the aim of studying such subjects through the Distance Learning Course. The distance learning has increased the understanding of the participants, especially in the area of intellectual property.
This fact shows that the Judiciary of Tanzania currently has many Judges and Magistrates who are experts in this area and are mature in providing the best services for intellectual property matters.
Deputy Judge of the High Court of England and Wales, Hon. Daniel Alexander was the first to gives a presentation on evidentiary requirement and presumptive.
Legal Officer from WIPO Judicial Institute, Geneva Switzerland, Ms Ines Fernandez Ulate, presentes a topic relating to digital evidence in trademark disputes.
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