Prof. de Beer Leads New Project on Intellectual Property and Open Development in Africa

Students on campus
Professor Jeremy de Beer is the co-principal investigator, with Tobias Schonwetter, on a new research project on intellectual property and open development in Africa, called the “Open AIR project.” Chidi Oguamanam is also deeply involved in the project as a researcher and member of the steering committee.

The project’s full title is Open A.I.R. – African Innovation Research and Training: Exploring the Role of Intellectual Property in Open Development. The project aims to investigate how intellectual property regimes can be harnessed in Africa to facilitate innovation through collaboration.

Building on the success of the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project, Open AIR will invest in pan-African research, networking, capacity-building and policy engagement. The project is a three-year initiative based at the University of Cape Town IP Law and Policy Research Unit, with implementation support from the University of Ottawa Centre for Law, Technology and Society, and several other institutions throughout Africa.

Open AIR is being funded with approximately 20 million South African Rand (2.75M USD) over the next three years from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Click here for more information on the Open AIR project.