Intellectual Property rights in the technology sector

The slave who made the whiskey, Jack Daniel, was not given recognition until 2016. This recognition was 150 years late. This is not an isolated incident as there are several instances in the past where inventions and ideas by black people were stolen.

So much has changed all over the world, especially in countries where the rights of black people have always been a subject of constant discourse. A 2016 study found that black Americans “apply for patents at nearly half the rate of whites". This shows that a lot still needs to done to protect the intellectual property rights of black people in tech.

In my session, I will address the subject of what intellectual property rights are, how they can be protected and what the black community can do to help facilitate this protection. I will speak on the jurisdictional nature of intellectual property rights and why it is important for black people in tech to apply for triadic or international patents.