On Thursday 9th June 2022 a section of 4th cohort MPhil Intellectual Property students from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) paid an industrial visit to ANKU.ANKU AT LAW Offices in Accra, Ghana. The visit formed part of the students’ week-long industrial tour of key institutions in the field of Intellectual Property law and Practice. The students indicated that prior to the visit to our offices, they had visited the Ghana Industrial Property Office (GHIPO), the Copyright Office, GHAMRO and ASOG. The choice of ANKU.ANKU AT-LAW as the only private IP law office visited was to help them understand the IP practice from a law firm which specializes in Intellectual Property law and Practice to familiarize  themselves with IP Practice globally and Ghana in particular.

The students were warmly received and welcomed by all the staff of the Firm, led by Mrs. Sarah Norkor Anku Esq., Senior Partner. They were taken through the various units under the IP Department of the firm: Registration and Litigation. Mrs Mary-Magdalene Onyinye Dotsey, Esq. handled a presentation on IP litigation while Mr Jerome Lavie took the students through the activities in the Registration unit, including, the various processes involved in prosecution of patents, trademarks and industrial designs as well as copyright registrations.

The students were further introduced to practical International approaches to IP registrations.

Mrs. Dotsey also introduced the students to some decided cases involving some clients of the Firm versus the Registrar of Trademarks. They were also hinted about some pending IP cases in court and how the Firm is helping to develop IP jurisprudence in Ghana. This information excited the students greatly particularly because the firm was gradually building cases which would be used as precedents since there are very few decided cases on IP and none in some aspects of Industrial Property in Ghana.

By the students’ own account, the visit was very educative and many of their questions had been answered and doubts cleared by the interactions. They expressed their gratitude for the warm reception and requested for slots for internships at the Firm.

In the Senior Partner’s remarks, she was optimistic about the positive change that the training of more IP Practitioners on the continent would bring. She urged the students to be passionate about the practice in order to improve IP law in Africa. She also assured them that the doors of the firm are always open to interns.