Malawi burn pirated materials on world intellectual property day

A member of PHOTAMA taking a close-up photograph of the burning of  pirated materials
A member of PHOTAMA taking a close-up photograph of the burning of pirated materials

Malawi on Friday, 26th April, joined the rest of the world in celebrating the World Intellectual Property Day at a function that was hosted by the Mzuzu University (MZUNI) in Mzuzu.

Minister of the Trade and Industry, Sosten Gwengwe, led hundreds of Malawians from across Malawi in commemorating the day which started with an intellectual property march from the Mzuzu High Court to Taifa Market where a sample of confiscated pirated materials were burnt.

The sample of the impounded pirated material included CDs, DVDs, drugs and maize seeds, among others.

During the match various messages on issues of intellectual property were spread across the city’s central business district (CBD) and its vicinity.

Under the 2013 theme, Creativity: The Next Generation, main activities which included speeches, music from Lucius Banda and Zembani Band and Dan Lufani, theatre from Mzuni Theatre Arts Group (MUTAG) and presentations, to mark the day were conducted at the Mzuzu University campus.

There were also displays of confiscated counterfeit materials from several companies such as Mosanto Malawi, Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), Pharmacies, Medicines and Poisons Board, among others.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and its member states decided in 2000 to designate an annual World Intellectual Property Day which is commemorated on 26th April, the date on which the convention establishing WIPO originally entered into force in 1970.

Now in its 13th year, World Intellectual Property Day celebrates the many innovative achievements and contributions made around the globe by various artists.

The aims of this special day are to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trade-marks and industrial designs affect daily life, increase understanding of how protecting intellectual property (IP) rights helps promote creativity and innovation, celebrate creativity and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies around the globe; and encourage respect for the IP rights of others.

Officials offloading pirated materials at the dumping site near Taifa Market  in Mzuzu City.-Photos by Canaan Munthali, Photographers Association of Malawi- PHOTAMA
Officials offloading pirated materials at the dumping site near Taifa Market in Mzuzu City.-Photos by Canaan Munthali, Photographers Association of Malawi- PHOTAMA
COSOMA's Dick Kachipande pouring petrol on pirated materials before setting them on fire.--Photos by Canaan Munthali, Photographers Association of Malawi- PHOTAMA
COSOMA’s Dick Kachipande pouring petrol on pirated materials before setting them on fire.–Photos by Canaan Munthali, Photographers Association of Malawi- PHOTAMA
Police on guard to ensure maximum security--Photos by Canaan Munthali, Photographers Association of Malawi- PHOTAMA
Police on guard to ensure maximum security–Photos by Canaan Munthali, Photographers Association of Malawi- PHOTAMA
Some of the pirated cosmetics and drugs on display at Mzuzu University
Some of the pirated cosmetics and drugs on display at Mzuzu University

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