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Light Years IP Launches a New Report, "Distinctive values in African Exports", at the Annual World Economic Forum on Africa

Light Years IP Launches a New Report, "Distinctive values in African Exports", at the Annual World Economic Forum on Africa

Published 06-06-08

Submitted by Light Years IP

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA,. - June 6th, 2008 - Light Years IP a Washington, DC non-profit organization yesterday launched a new report on the potential for Intellectual Property (IP) business strategies to increase and secure income for low-income producers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ron Layton, CEO of Light Years IP stated: "Billions of dollars of additional export income for low-income producers across Sub-Saharan Africa can be secured by using the IP business concepts that we applied to the very successful Ethiopian fine coffee initiative-which has doubled the income of some coffee farmers."

The report examines the scale of untapped IP business opportunities among distinctive African products to dramatically increase the income that small-scale producers receive. Experts contributing to the study estimate the scale of that income increase to be somewhere between 230% to 320%--far above the 1.6% annual growth in non-mineral exports over the past decade.

"The Department for International Development sees the innovative use of Intellectual Property-based strategies by low-income producers in Sub-Saharan Africa as a valuable tool in poverty alleviation" said UK Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander at the launch event."We were delighted to support this report, which is a reflection of our view that these strategies are important, and we will continue to be actively involved."

The report will be followed by workshops for low income-producers to develop and implement appropriate IP-based strategies. Concurrently, Light Years IP is conducting feasibility studies on several projects, and is in the advanced stages of establishing a $25m investment fund to assist producers in implementing these IP business strategies.

To learn more about these initiatives, visit the following:

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Light Years IP

Light Years IP

Light Years IP (LYIP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating poverty by assisting developing country producers gain ownership of their Intellectual Property (IP) and to use the IP to increase their export income and improve the security of that income. LYIP is pioneering a Poverty Alleviating IP Solutions (PAIPS) approach to help developing world producers identify and own their IP. We believe IP offers a business strategy that can help developing countries increase income, improve the security of their income, and alleviate poverty. We assist producers, exporters, and governments in the developing world to analyze their export potential with respect to identifying the value of intangibles and then using IP tools (i.e. patents, trademarks, licenses) to secure more sustained and higher export income. The ownership of IP is secured in market countries through the existing IP legal frameworks of the developed world.

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