Innovators and researchers equipped with patent drafting and filing skills

Research and innovation services hub and a web 3.0 company, Heritors Labs Limited, in collaboration with its strategic partners, Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), UK International Development, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has organised a three-day practical workshop on patent drafting and filing skills for scientists, researchers and innovators in Accra.

The workshop underscored the company’s commitment to enabling researchers and innovators to maximise value for their inventions and innovations by acquiring the requisite patents and intellectual property rights to cover their creative works.

Derrydean Dadzie, Chief Executive Officer, Heritors Labs in his remarks said, “The gap in patenting knowledge is one of the key barriers limiting the full potential of research outcomes.Without robust patent support, incredible inventions risk becoming mere whispers in history, gathering dust on shelves. Researchers often find themselves caught in the cycle of ‘publish or perish,’ -where scholarly work is focused on professional advancement rather than impact. This training addresses that gap by equipping innovators and researchers with the skills to protect their work, ensuring that their ideas can be commercialised and obtain global economic value.”

Deputy Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Prof. Marian Quain, who opened the workshop, admitted that most researchers and scientists were handicapped in the areas of securing protection for their works and inventions.

“Research institutions are equally under-performing if we are looking at the volume of innovations and technologies that are being transferred. We are therefore grateful to Heritors Labs and partners for the eye-opening training that will enable scientists and researchers to draft and file for patents to protect their works,” she indicated.

She urged participants to take advantage of the patent drafting workshop to change the status quo to enable funders—RISA Fund and other funding agencies to provide the requisite supports to enable them secure their innovations and creativity.

An intellectual property officer at CSIR-CRI, Dr. Hillary Mireku-Bortey, highlighting the severity of the problem, stressed that scientists and researchers lacked the capacity to draft, file and secure patents for their works, adding that the training was beneficial and timely.

“As researchers and scientists, understanding intellectual property is both beneficial and essential. Effective intellectual property management, particularly in the realm of patents is very crucial for protecting innovations, securing funding and fostering collaborations,” he noted.

Heritors Labs is an awardee of the RISA Fund, a multi-country project funded by the UK through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to support research and lead domestic efforts towards the commercialisation and industry uptake of research and innovation outcomes.

General Manager of the company, Emmanuel Prince Amartey, remarked that the workshop was to empower participants with practical skillset that will enable them to secure protection for their innovations and inventions.

“Heritors Labs, as research and innovations intermediary working with its strategic partners, has identified the need to close the gaps in the patenting of inventions and research outcomes starting with capacity building for key stakeholders,” he said.

Mr. Amartey added: “By this training, participants will be on their capacity to acquire patents for research works in their various institutions, which will then enable the private sector to confidently engage research institutions on commercialisation.”

Funded and supported by the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund, the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and UK International Development, the workshop empowered participants with practical patent drafting and application skills on how to secure the right protection and gain commercial value for their creative works.

Country Technical Lead for the RISA Fund, Gameli Adzaho, remarked: “Today’s workshop seeks to address skills gaps in intellectual property by building capacities for both the demand and supply sides.

We expect to see more Ghanaian patents and other forms of intellectual property coming from local researchers, inventors and scientists across the national, regional and global levels.”

On his part, the Director of Science, Technology and Innovation at MESTI, Nashiru Salifu, admonished participants to leverage the power of patenting to add commercial value to their works.

He said patents have become the pre-condition for commercialisation and a useful proxy for innovation in some parts of the world and that countries with high numbers of patents are mostly assessed to be economies with high levels of innovation.

He further admitted the need for government to intensify efforts in the provision of financial assistance to research institutions, researchers and inventors in filing for patents for their inventions and innovations.