Recently, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) has been in the news with a legal fight with its own Prof Ogwang Patrick over the rightful owner of Covidex, a local therapeutic against Corona Virus.
The battle has been intense enough to attract Presidential attention, since the pandemic needs medical solutions – not health related dilemmas.
In his address last night, President Museveni was crystal clear about which party deserves more. Arguably, he picked the most deserving side; the scientists who discover the remedies.
“We must protect the intellectual property rights of the scientists involved. I have heard of arguments around ownership of the patents and trademarks, but this is a straightforward issue. These belong to the scientists who discovered them, ” H.E Museveni stated.
Nonetheless, the President recognised the contribution of the institutions where the scientists are based, guiding them to a more fair approach saying;
“If the institutions that employ these scientists want to benefit from their innovations, they should levy a sort of tax, what the technology transfer experts refer to as sharing of royalties. Even then, much of the proceeds should go to the inventor so that we encourage our scientists to discover more.”
With the discovery and invention of local herb remedies by Researchers especially in Institutions like Universities, a battle of ownership has been inevitable with the brains behind claiming the rightful ownership while their parent institutions arguing to the contrary.
However, the President advised the other researchers to be more authentic in their discoveries so as to achieve product acceptability from international actors.
“Also, the scientists involved must follow the globally prescribed steps so that we don’t give our enemies the chance to shot down our products,” the President hinted.
