Call for Papers: Intellectual Property in Africa: Catalysing Development, Innovation, and Sustainability in the 21st Century
Emerging Researchers and Postgraduates Symposium Call for Papers
Africa’s intellectual property regimes continue to evolve and considering the ever changing legal, economic, and social environment, and with the inception of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Africa stands at a pivotal moment of transformation. In the global context, recent treaties signed at the World Intellectual Property Organization – such as the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, and the Riyadh Design Law Treaty – represent significant milestones. These developments hold the potential to advance the continent’s developmental goals. Leveraging Africa’s immense innovation capacity, rich biodiversity, traditional knowledge, genetic resources, and burgeoning creative industries, Africa can ensure that IP contributes to sustainable growth and respect for cultural heritage.
The South African Intellectual Property Law Journal marks its 10th anniversary and to celebrate this significant milestone, the South African Research Chair: Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development will host the IP Law Emerging Researchers and Postgraduates Symposium and publish a special edition of the journal with contributions from emerging researchers. The Symposium will take place from 7 to 11 July 2025 at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. The Symposium will be composed of discussions and writing sessions to give scholars the opportunity to explore the evolving IP landscape in Africa.
Submission procedure and instructions
We invite early career African scholars and postgraduate students to share abstracts by 10 March 2025 via the dedicated email address. Abstracts may not exceed 350 words. The results will be announced in the first week of May 2025. The event is an in-person event and the Chair will contribute to the costs (travel and accommodation) of 8 postgraduate students whose abstracts have been accepted. Those who would wish to be considered for sponsorship must indicate at the submission of the abstract.Selected abstracts will be considered for publication in a special edition of the South African Intellectual Property Law Journal to be published in the final quarter of 2025.
Target Audience
The Symposium is intended for emerging researchers, early career scholars and postgraduate students specialising in intellectual property in Africa. The objective is to promote groundbreaking work by African postgraduate scholars and researchers, elevate African perspectives in global IP discourse, foster dialogue that shapes IP policies supporting Africa’s developmental aspirations and align scholarly contributions with the goals of a prosperous, integrated, and sustainable Africa.
TIMELINES
• Call for papers announced – Tuesday 11 February 2025
• Deadline for submission of abstracts – Tuesday 11 March 2025
• Results announced – First week of May 2025
• Symposium dates – Monday 7 July – Friday 11 July 2025
• Final deadline for Authors draft papers – Monday 21 July 2025 *Authors receive 3 weeks to finalise their drafts
• Reviewing papers – Monday 28 July – Friday 5 September 2025 *Authors receive 2 weeks to address reviewers’ comments
• Deadline of final submissions – Monday 22 September 2025
• Publication of Special Edition – Late October 2025
For more details, refer here
