





Chief Guest Dr. Mary Teopista (Center), Amb. Francis Butagira, Registrar General Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho and URSB board members pose for a photo at the URSB ISO Certification External Stakeholders celebration
Hon. Nobert Mao congratulates the Registrar General, Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho, and Board member, Ms. Lydia A. Sekkabira on the ISO 9001:2015 certification milestone
Mr. Hamidu Tumuhimbise, a senior Registration Officer, attends to a client during the UEB claimants exercise at the Uganda Business Facilitation Center, Kololo
A delegation from PACRA led by the Deputy Registrar Mr. Chewe Peter Chilufya (Center) visited URSB for a 3 days benchmarking visit on the Intellectual Property Registry on how systems operate, the digital improvements implemented and how these reforms contribute to reduced turnaround time
A delegation from UNOC visits URSB to benchmark on the Digital Transformation Journey.
Director General WIPO Mr. Daren Tang, Minister of Justice Hon. Nobert Mao, The Registrar General Ms. Mercy K. Kainobwisho, URSB Board members a delegation from WIPO pause for a photo at the Uganda Business Facilitation Center during the DG’s mission to Uganda

ARIPO and URSB empower IP agents to safeguard Africa’s innovations
The African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), in collaboration with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), hosted a comprehensive seminar for IP agents, firms, and national IP offices aimed at deepening their understanding of intellectual property systems, with a particular emphasis on safeguarding innovation and embracing digital transformation across Africa.
Hosted at the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre (UBFC) on 30th April 2025, the event aimed to build the capacity of intellectual property agents to support innovation and economic development through- effective IP registration and protection.
The programme featured a series of technical sessions led by experts from ARIPO, including Dr. Byson C. Sabola, Dr. Makhosazana P. Gamedze and Mr. Robert Chiweza.
Key sessions covered the fundamentals of IP concepts, strategies for protecting university generated intellectual property, and a detailed walkthrough of ARIPO’s e-service registration system.
The seminar facilitated interactive discussions, allowing participants to engage in real-time demonstrations and ask questions. It built on two prior engagement activities at Makerere University: a meeting with the university’s top management, and an interaction with innovators at the Makerere Unipod, as well as a session targeting lecturers, researchers, administrators, and senior students from
academia.
This seminar underscored the importance of IP knowledge in driving innovation, with a clear call to action for African professionals to take full advantage of evolving IP systems.