Development of ICT policies, enactment of laws and continued campaigns on intellectual property issues have led to a rise in patenting and copyright protection in Africa's technology industry.

Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Egypt have amended existing laws and developed others that provide stiff penalties for IP theft and also provide mechanisms for aggrieved techies to seek legal protection.

The new laws have empowered businessmen and developers to seek legal redress, but high costs of litigation and continuous evolution of technology have posed challenges too.

Nokia is facing legal battles over its bicycle charger, while Safaricom and Equity Bank are facing a protracted legal tussle over M-Kesho, a product that allows mobile subscribers to bank via mobile phones.

"The new wave of technologies combine[s] different forms of protection; a mix of trade secret, copyright, and trademarks, which requires a thorough legal understanding of all these areas," said Paul Asiimwe, an intellectual property lawyer and consultant in Uganda.

The laws may be in place, but the challenge still remains to educate those in technology and make them aware of how to protect themselves through copyright or patents as per existing laws.

"There is need for education on what developers' and techies' rights are; at what point do non-disclosure agreements and such drafted documents become a part of the equation when negotiating revenue shares and splits?" said Mark Kaigwa, creative director at PlugIn Africa, an Internet strategy firm operating in Kenya and South Africa.

Previously, technology universities and colleges were not teaching legal aspects, which meant that students were creating and inventing but they did not understand the commercialization process.

"Techies focus too much on the technology and often avoid or ignore aspects surrounding the commercialization chain. Critical elements such as intellectual property need to be addressed early in the commercialization cycle, or they can stunt the product or render it an easy target for counterfeiters," added Asiimwe.

Failure to understand IP has resulted in businesses set up by software developers who are unable to determine the costs, benefits and risks of counterfeiting other people's IP.

"The University of Nairobi has changed its curriculum to focus more on entrepreneurship and intellectual property -- students are encouraged to register their innovations before presenting them to companies or showcasing them in trade fairs," said Kamau Gachigi, coordinator of the Science and Technology Park Steering Committee at the University of Nairobi.

One of the major challenges with IP in Africa is that most innovations are not tested and implemented before they are presented to would-be investors.

"It's time to start prototyping and creating betas and alphas. It's time to develop and fix along the way. Internationally, most startups end up selling after having taken the leap or gone into implementation -- it shouldn't be different here, what we need to work on is creating a sustainable environment for innovation," added Kaigwa.

While there is still need for education and awareness, the rise of innovation hubs in some African countries has led to techies coming together to share ideas and ways to approach companies and venture capitalists.