27 Nov 2023

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) director general Daren Tang has advised Botswana creatives to join the Creators Learn Intellectual Property (CLIP) movement.

Tang ,who was speaking at a creative industry session hosted by Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) in Gaborone on November 23, said ‘CLIP is free and online at www.goclip.org, and anyone who is a musician and aspires to put their music in online platforms I urge you to have a look at this and use it to understand music industry, IP, Copyrights and music industry as a whole’.

Created by WIPO together with Music Rights Awareness Foundation for creators, CLIP is a trusted go-to-knowledge platform on creators’ rights and intellectual property.

WIPO launched the platform recently with music industry specific content and is expected to grow to include a range of other creative discipline.

Tang, who has a creative background, said the platform would also include other disciplines such as poets, dancers, painters, literature, audio-visual creation, drama and visual arts. He said he was hopeful that creatives in Botswana would join the movement.

“I want you to join this movement, let us break this stereotype that IP is for the global north and not for the global south, it is wrong,” he said. He said coming from Singapore, he had observed that innovative and creative potential from people in Asia, Africa and Latin America had been underutilised and underpaid, adding, he was here to change that.

Tang said Botswana creative should feel that Intellectual Property (IP) was part of their story as well and not to feel that IP was a form of exploitation. “Let us work together and change the global IP ecosystem and make it more inclusive, balanced and work for all countries in the world especially developing ones,” Tang said.

Responding to Botswana Film Association chairperson Prince Monna who said music was always first to enjoy the IP interventions, Tang said the next phase of CLIP would include to film.

Further, Tang emphasised that the work that they do at WIPO was to make IP come down to the grassroots level and support the creative in their journey of creative innovation.

“IP is here to bring your music and creations to the world, to support entrepreneurs start-ups, support aspirations of young researchers, a way to protect heritage and cultures of handicrafts and a way to create jobs for young Batswana and ensure that Sustainable Development Goals were achieved,” said Tang. ENDS