The Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO) Director General, Garmai Koboi, has made efforts to raise awareness about intellectual property, with the goal of promoting public understanding of the economic benefits of intellectual property and, in return, fostering respect for intellectual property rights among all Liberians.
Speaking during the Ministry of Information regular press briefing on Thursday, December 12, 2024, Koboi said these efforts culminated in a three-month intellectual property awareness exercise and a high school intellectual property club competition.
According to her, the goal of this awareness initiative, as stated previously, aligns with President Joseph Boakai’s vision of building a knowledge-based society anchored on intellectual property values.
She said the President believes that by equipping Liberians of all generations, the country is taking meaningful steps toward fostering innovation and creativity.
The awareness initiative in Montserrado, Grand Bassa, and Nimba counties combined face-to-face outreach efforts, radio programs, an influencer campaign, and the distribution of flyers and brochures to ensure that key messages reached a wide and diverse audience.
During the course of the awareness, the outreach activities included visits to Buchanan City, Grand Bassa; Ganta, and Sanniquellie, Nimba County; and a comprehensive tour of Monrovia and other parts of Montserrado County—where they interacted directly with community members, local business owners, students, and educators.
“We provided education covering the fundamentals of IP law, the importance of trademark and copyright protection, and the potential value of locally created products, brands, and innovations,” Director Koboi stated.
She said, “We interacted directly with approximately 5,000 individuals through our one-on-one discussions. These personal engagements allowed participants to ask questions, share concerns, and learn how safeguarding their creative works can promote long-term economic benefits for themselves and their communities.
“To complement our in-person efforts, we also conducted interviews on several local radio stations, broadening the campaign’s reach to listeners who may not have been able to be reached physically.
“We estimate that a combined audience of more than 100,000 individuals listened to these interviews across all participating stations. Additionally, we distributed over 5,000 flyers and brochures at local markets, educational institutions, public offices, and among individuals.
“These materials, designed in accessible language and featuring illustrative examples, provided concise guidance on protecting intellectual property rights and how to seek more information or assistance from the Liberia Intellectual Property Office,” she maintained.
In total, the estimated awareness reaches more than 2,000 people when numbers of influencer campaigns digitally are added.
She also said preliminary feedback so far suggests that the public awareness campaign has improved Liberians’ understanding of the basics of intellectual property.
Thus, many Liberians can now express a clearer understanding of why protecting one’s creative works and innovations is vital. Businesses have shown interest in learning about trademark registration, and creative artists have begun inquiring about copyright processes.
She underscored that educational institutions are requesting additional collaborations and materials, indicating that the awareness campaign successfully sparked a sustained interest in intellectual property education.
“While a formal impact assessment is forthcoming, the increased requests for intellectual property materials and consultations strongly suggest that the number of those effectively reached surpasses our original targets, and that this wider familiarity with intellectual property principles at a basic level will foster a more compliant and innovative environment across Liberia,” she added.
