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Nora Ho Tu Nam, Development, trade and IP in Africa, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Volume 20, Issue 3, March 2025, Page 193, https://doi.org/10.1093/jiplp/jpae086
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Extract
African Free Trade Agreements and Intellectual Property is a well-researched book that will be of interest to any reader keen to learn more about trade, IP and socio-economic development in Africa. Brimming with practical African examples and written in a clear manner, the book should attract a wide readership, not limited to IP practitioners. The authors, Michael Blakeney and Getachew Mengistie Alemu, make their voices heard throughout the book, elevating it beyond a simple review of continental, regional and bilateral instruments.
Yet, this reviewer cannot help but feel that the book would have been better served with a broader title that would better alert potential readers to its content. The book will interest not only those who are concerned about African free trade agreements but also any reader with a broader interest in Africa, IP and development.
The book is divided into 10 chapters. Some chapters are directly connected to African free trade agreements, and readers who picked up the book based on its title could dive directly into those. Chapter two provides an overview of regional economic communities and trade agreements in Africa, highlighting the relevant provisions on IP where applicable. Given the high number of regional and subregional communities on the continent, the section on the prospects for regional integration and the risk of incoherence is particularly welcomed. Chapter three concerns the African Union and its plans for regional integration, discussing Agenda 2063 and the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA). While Agenda 2063 manifests a hoped-for Africa to be achieved within 50 years from 2013 to 2063, the AFCFTA is an ambitious plan to create a single liberalized market for goods and services facilitated by the movement of people. The chapter provides an interesting and timely discussion of the prospects of the Agreement and a much-appreciated nuanced view of the advantages of the AFCFTA for various countries. AFCFTA is often portrayed as a deal that will boost growth, create jobs and reduce poverty all over Africa. While income gains from implementing the AFCFTA are in the double digits for Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe, other countries such as Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique would see only a 2 per cent gain. Chapter 5 looks at the provisions of the IP Protocol to the AFCFTA while highlighting some limitations, such as the secrecy surrounding the development and negotiation of the IP Protocol. Chapter 6 provides a review of the free trade agreements to which African states are party. Not only do the authors discuss the various provisions but they also provide an extensive overview of the history behind the adoption of those agreements with much information on African states. Chapters 4 and 7 are, instead, centered on the second half of the title—IP in Africa.
