ARIPO Conducts Policy Study Visit for URSB

On 22 February 2024, Director General Bemanya Twebaze welcomed a delegation from Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) led by His Excellency (H.E) Ambassador Francis Butagira - Board Chairman, with Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho - Registrar General and Mr. Joseph Kasule.

The delegation was hosted for a two-day policy study visit at the ARIPO Secretariat, which was designed to enhance the URSB delegation's understanding of ARIPO's strategic activities through observation and engagement with relevant IP stakeholders and experts.

The URSB expressed their desire to enhance the capacity of their Board of Directors to the workings of ARIPO to enable them to appreciate the regional framework for regulation, governance and management of intellectual property. 

Ambassador Butagira commended ARIPO for the support URSB receives and added that through ARIPO’s guidance, URSB has “…registered significant achievements and progress in the intellectual property landscape, particularly an increase in intellectual property registrations and reforms to our intellectual property laws to align them with the various international treaties and Protocols. These have facilitated an environment that fosters the growth of the private sector through encouraging innovation and creativity sector in Uganda, which is in line with our National Development Plan III (NDP III 2020/21-2024/25).”

In dialogue, the ARIPO DG appreciated H.E. Ambassador Francis Butagira and the URSB for the mutually beneficial exchange. He added that "ARIPO is fully committed to working together with the Republic of Uganda to promote the use of Intellectual Property as a tool for social, cultural, economic and technological development of its people".