In line with countries around the world, Liberia celebrated the observance of World Intellectual Property (IP) Day 2026 with emphasis being placed on the development of the nation’s sports industry through the process of registering intellectual property.
Taking place on Monday, April 27, 2026, as part of the international theme « IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate, » the national observance focused on the importance of transforming the nation’s sports sector into an economically viable venture.
The event gathered top government representatives, sports organizations, the media, and intellectuals involved in IP to discuss the benefits that IP law could bring to the sports sector.
In his keynote address, Hon. Tarnue N. Jeke, the Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, noted that the national theme, « Registering the Game: The Economic Potential of Sports through Intellectual Property in Liberia, » was a clear call to action.
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According to Hon. Jeke, modern sports are much more than just sports because the sports sector relies on intellectual property laws that facilitate merchandising, sponsorship, broadcast, and other commercial activities in this field.
Hon. Jeke stressed the importance of trademarks and other rights in generating money from the sports sector, saying that sports are not only about athletic talent. « Sport is not based only on talent, but also on the economic benefit of intellectual property rights, » Hon. Jeke explained, adding that protecting one’s name, logo, and other property was the key to generating income.
The Deputy Minister used an example from neighboring Ghana, where according to him, the Ghana Football Association received considerable benefits from their broadcast and commercialization deal until 2025.
However, earlier, the Director General of the Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO), Hon. Garmai Koboi, pointed out the importance of intellectual property for the growth of Liberia’s sports industry. Indeed, according to her statements, while sports still play an important role in empowering the youth, maintaining peace, and creating patriotism in the country, the profits received from them do not enjoy any legal protection.
Indeed, Hon. Koboi highlighted the fact that there are numerous opportunities in terms of monetizing the sport through intellectual property registration for such items like names and logos of teams, uniforms, mottoes, and digital content. « The sports of today are more than competition on the playing field. It’s about branding, entertainment, content, innovation, and business, » Koboi was quoted as saying.
In order to ensure the involvement of more interested parties, LIPO decided to provide a month’s waiver of administrative charges for IP registration for those working in the sports industry.
She went on to reveal her intentions for conducting countrywide outreach programs aimed at institutions engaged in sports activities, as well as individuals practicing in the field of sports journalism, including content creation. Furthermore, an Intellectual Property Management Clinic will be launched in different parts of the country.
On his part, President of the Sports Writers Association of Liberia, Varmah Kamara, referred to the observance of Intellectual Property Rights Day as a new dawn in the industry. « Sports is a business and we have to ensure that our activities and contents are not exploited for economic gain by others. »
Failure to secure the content such as logos, images, and live broadcasts denies institutions and individuals who create them their fair share, he observed. Mr. Kamara narrated how in some cases, contents produced through media were being used without permission from its creators.
Concluding the ceremony, the Director-General of LIPO stated the need to include intellectual property provisions in all contractual agreements in the sporting fraternity to avoid conflicts in ownership rights. She further mentioned that the process of enforcing intellectual property starts with the rights holder since intellectual property rights are private rights that require initiative from the rights owner.
The World IP Day 2026 celebration will be followed by a sports engagement on May 2.
Intellectual Property stakeholders, including the Sports Writers Association, Press Union of Liberia, Liberia Amputees National Federation, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Determine Girls Football Club, Ministry of Commerce, among others, ended the event with one goal: registering, protecting, and exploiting Liberia’s sports resources for development purposes.
Source:
allafrica.com
