By Bill W. Cooper
The United Nation Development Program (UNDP) Country Representative to Liberia, Louis Kuukpen, has revealed that a protected intellectual property regime in Liberia would serve as a solid foundation for expanding tourism and the country’s economy.
He noted that while intellectual property can spur economic growth, valuing and protecting people’s knowledge through intellectual property protection is one of the surest ways of lifting them out of poverty.
Delivering his keynote at a program marking the celebration of World Intellectual Property Day, Kuukpen stated that, as aligning with President Joseph Boakai’s development agenda, “There is a need to invest in copyright protection, prevent piracy, and deter IP theft.”
The UNDP Country Rep. emphasized, “I would like to remind the government that a protected intellectual regime will be a strong foundation upon which tourism will thrive in Liberia because emerging findings from our ongoing study of development will entail human capital development and leveraging the youthful demographic dividend.”
According to him, while he commends the Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO) for organizing the occasion to raise awareness about the importance of IP, he sincerely hopes that it will strengthen the foundations for the journey towards harnessing the game-changing potential for economic growth and development.
Kuukpen added that a strong intellectual property regime is the bridge that guarantees individual or corporate innovators their investment and returns, noting that harnessing the potential of IP rights entails continuous recognition by policymakers of the need for IP rights to protect the inventions and creative works of individuals and firms.
Earlier, the Liberia Intellectual Property (LIPO) Director General, Garmai Koboi, announced an ambitious vision of charting the course of making Liberia an IP-conscious nation within a few years.
At the core of her vision, she said, is a study to quantify the contribution of intellectual property to the Liberian economy—providing empirical evidence for its integration into national development plans and sectoral policies.
Koboi noted that the findings of the study are key in harnessing the country’s intellectual property potential and evidence-based decision-making.
“Showcasing the impact of IP on the country’s GDP and job creation and highlighting the economic cost of infringement will spark nationwide awareness and respect for intellectual property, and thanks to the availability of economic data that would foster easy public understanding, while serving as the basis for data-driven policy decisions and regulations,” she said.
She further disclosed her plans to roll out a specialized IP service program tailored to the needs of SMEs and startups, adding, “The goal is to assist SMEs and startups in registering, evaluating, and commercializing their intellectual assets to unlock the full potential of Liberia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and foster a culture of innovation-led growth.”
“While the democratization of the registration process will enhance the accessibility of intellectual property services as registration will be done with ease and efficiency from anywhere across the country and the world at large, just by a click of a button,” Koboi said.
Meanwhile, Information Minister, Jerolinmek Piah, committed the government to strengthening his Ministry’s relationship with LIPO so that actors in the tourism sector, including businesses, can be trained in IP rights and strategies to increase competitiveness.
“MICAT is ready to work with LIPO to increase the knowledge scope of Liberian tourism businesses. They may not be fully aware of their trademark and patent rights, and this will be an opportunity for us as the government to ensure they are enlightened,” he added.
