The Cabinet has approved a proposal to formulate a comprehensive National Intellectual Property Policy aimed at fixing structural and operational gaps in the current system and improving coordination among state agencies.
The current framework is governed by the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003, but the government has identified several challenges in how the system operates, Media Minister Vijitha Herath told reporters at the post-Cabinet briefing.
“Although several ministries and government agencies, in addition to the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka, play complementary roles in the intellectual property system, it has been observed that there is a lack of coordination among these agencies,” Herath said.
The new policy aims to provide clear strategic direction to develop and use Sri Lanka’s intellectual property more effectively, and will align with international best practices while safeguarding national interests and domestic priorities, according to the minister.
The policy push lands alongside parallel structural-reform tracks the government is rolling out at Cabinet level, including the recent national working group on Northern Province marine protected areas and the trade-and-FDI-reform critique just published by the Centre for a Smart Future, both of which flagged inter-ministerial coordination as a recurring bottleneck in implementation.
Source: EconomyNext.
