South Africa Patent Examiner’s Training on Patents and Public Health
DTI Campus, Pretoria, 29-30 October 2018
Event details
A workshop for South African patent examiners on patents and public health was convened by the South Centre as part of the UNITAID project. It took place in Pretoria between 29-30 October 2018, with the support of South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). Executive Director Carlos Correa, Dr. Germán Velásquez and Vitor Ido represented South Centre and three other facilitators also participated – Mr. Yousuf Vawda (University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa), Mr. Vinayak Bhardwaj (Médecins Sans Frontières, South Africa) and Ms. Catherine Tomlinson (Fix the Patent Laws, South Africa). The workshop provided a comprehensive analysis of the importance of rigorous patent examinations for achieving public health, provided a number of specific examples and briefings about the South African case, and discussed typical claims on pharmaceutical patents.
Nearly 20 people participated in this workshop (11 patent examiners and patent searchers participated, further 4 directors of CIPC attended the meeting apart from South Centre members and facilitators).