Africa’s patent systems ‘not fit for purpose’

African patent offices need drastic overhaul to stop their exploitation by foreign firms, a Nigerian lawyer and associate professor at York University in Canada writes in a recently published book.

Ikechi Mgbeoji paints a bleak picture from his study of patenting in 44 African nations through stakeholder surveys, visits to patent offices and personal interviews.

His findings constitute a chapter in ‘Innovation and intellectual property: collaborative dynamics in Africa’, a book published earlier this year by the University of Cape Town in South Africa.