“Intellectual property is everywhere around us and impacts our lives. For entrepreneurs and businesses alike, intellectual property is about value creation – it is the insurance you need for when you succeed.” – McLean Sibanda
Footprints is a captivating story about what intellectual property is, its role in trade and industry growth, and how it lays a solid foundation for nations to realise the full potential of economic development. In
this book McLean Sibanda shares personal stories and testimonies from fellow IP travellers, narrating how, over a period of less than a decade, South Africa transformed how it manages intellectual property
emanating from publicly financed research and development, and how it developed critical human capital and other infrastructure to ensure effective commercialisation and technology transfer.
Narrated through a series of significant moments, Footprints demonstrates how necessary deliberate and intentional steps are for economic transformation, and the importance of vision, solid foundation, collaboration, and champions who leave footprints for others to follow. With glimpses into the compelling cases of how countries such as China and Korea use intellectual property to develop their economies, this book makes a convincing case of how Africa can develop knowledge-based and industrialised economies through increased R&D investment, development of relevant human capital and appropriate use of intellectual property.
Footprints is a timely masterpiece in the wake of COVID-19, given the glaring and often misunderstood role of intellectual property and Africa’s scramble for vaccines. It also highlights the urgent need for
industrialisation and the role of intellectual property in this regard, for African countries to benefit from trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
This book is a must-read for any policy maker, economist, development activist, entrepreneur, researcher, innovator, technology transfer professional, and aspiring intellectual property scholar and professional.
