In coordination with the Africa Intellectual Property Group (AIPG), CLDP organized the regional Workshop on the Practical Approaches to IP Utilization and Protection for March 19-21, 2013 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. AIPG is a voluntary Africa-wide association of IP owners, officials, practitioners, institutions, and industry associations, with a shared desire to determine practical and innovative solutions to the challenges posed by counterfeiting and piracy, as well as the effective utilization of IP rights to foster innovation and economic growth in Africa. About 170 East, West, and Southern African IP officials, IP practitioners, IP stakeholders, and private sector, from 19 Anglophone and Francophone African countries gathered to discuss and learn about the practical approaches, successes, challenges and future strategies to the protection and utilization of IP as a facilitator of innovation, entrepreneurship, trade and investment. 

In addition to the participation of African countries, and in recognition of the increasingly regional nature of IP issues, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) and the francophone African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), as well as the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) are actively participating.  AIPG and CLDP worked closely with the EAC, the government of Tanzania, and USG interagency partners - the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Copyright Office, Department of Justice, Customs and Border Enforcement, and Department of State, to develop and conduct this workshop. 

The program aimed to ascertain the role of regional leadership in determining harmonized policies and legislation, the facilitation of inter-regional IP protection, and the impact of IP on creative industries, branding, innovation, and food security.