LESI 2010 International Conference & Meeting will take place in the Sandton Conference Centre during the month of April (11-14) 2010. The focus of LESI 2010 is “Collaborative Innovation” “The Role and Impact of Emerging Economies.”

Various topics will be discussed in line with the theme of LESI 2010. The speakers at the conference include:

Prof Alan Fenwick – will discuss the future of drug development as related to the diseases that occur in developing countries. He is Professor of Tropical Parasitology at the Imperial College of London.

Dr Bernard Fanaroff – will give a keynote address on the future of international collaboration. He is Project Director at the South African SKA Project in Sutherland, SA.

Mr Neale Baartjies – will discuss five country studies and future prospects of Minerals Research and Development in Africa.

Mr Clem Sunter – will give a future perspective on China and Africa. He is CEO of the Anglo-American Chairman’s Fund.

Mr Rob McInnis – will discuss Publicly Funded Research and share the Australian Experience. He is from Spruson & Ferguson Lawyers in Sidney, Australia.

Dr Shelley Mulder – will provide viewpoints from academia on Publicly Funded Research. She is involved at the Medical Research Council in Cape Town, SA.

Ms Morne Barradas – will provide the viewpoints from industry on Publicly Funded Research. She is IP Legal Advisor at Sasol, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Dr Kathleen A. Denis – will provide insight into the USA experience regarding Publicly Funded Research. She is Associate Vice President of Technology Transfer at the Rockefeller University, New York City.

Mr David Gill – discussion about the combined licensing opportunities in major events of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. He is Legal Advisor at FIFA.

Honourable Mr Justice Louis Harms – will address legal protection of native knowledge. He is the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa.

Dr Frederic Mostert – will lead a discussion on the protection of well-known marks internationally. He is Legal Adviser at Richmont.

Mr Geoffrey Onyeama – will discuss the impact of combined innovation on intellectual property and look at future trends. He is involved at WIPO in Geneva.

At the time of writing the speaker from Japan on Publicly Funded Research has not yet been announced.