THE UNIVERSITY OF NGAOUNDÉRÉ IN PURSUIT OF PATENTS

Madam Rector of The University of Ngaoundéré, Prof. UPHIE CHINJE Florence, intends to make research her flagship priority within the Institution she heads. She has spared no effort to ensure that the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development (MINMIDT) and the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) jointly organised, on 8 June 2023, a training workshop for lecturers on taking ownership of the intellectual property and innovation system.

According to Madam Rector, « this workshop is fully in line with scientific and technological research in the Cameroonian university and in Higher Education ». The patent is at the heart of socio-economic development. Indeed, an invention is defined as a technical solution to a problem. It is the basis of all industrial development. As for Fabrice TOUGKO, an intellectual property expert at MINMIDT, a patent protects the invention, that is to say it shields it from any unauthorised exploitation. The tools for protecting innovation include, among others, « patents, trademarks, industrial designs and models, trade names, plant variety rights, copyrights, related rights, trade secrets » he explains. The University of Ngaoundéré has several patents originating from its laboratories and intends to register them with OAPI.