Mr. Brad Smith, Microsoft's Vice President (Legal and Corporate Affairs) will give a talk on intellectual property tomorrow, Wednesday, 28th September at Strathmore University’s auditorium from 11am to 1pm. Mr Smith leads Microsoft’s Department of Legal and Corporate Affairs (LCA), which has just over 1,000 employees.

The theme of his talk, “Creating Opportunity Through Technology: Supporting SME Growth, Fostering Jobs, Investing in Youth”. targets students, professionals, ICT innovators and start-up enterprises.

The advent of smart phones and cloud computing has made software development industry accessible to many developers most of them young adults who are described as digital natives who have came of age in the era of the internet.

The coming of age of digital natives coupled with the widespread use of ICTs has seen Kenyan universities start business incubators with a strong focus on ICTs. ICTs also have the potential to open Africa, a continent that has made little progress to overcome the twin tyrants of space and time.

Mr Smith’s LCA department is responsible for the company's legal work, its intellectual property portfolio and patent licensing business, and its government affairs and philanthropic work. He also serves as Microsoft's corporate secretary and its chief compliance officer.

The address will seek to enlighten participants on the legal aspects of initiating an enterprise. It will also focus on existing challenges and opportunities in the market. It will also highlight best practices and resources essential for development and sustainability of start-ups.

Since becoming Microsoft’s General Counsel in 2002, Smith has overseen numerous negotiations leading to competition law and intellectual property agreements with governments around the world and with companies across the IT sector.

He has helped spearhead the growth in the company's intellectual property portfolio and the launch of global campaigns to bring enforcement actions against those engaged in software piracy and counterfeiting, malware, consumer fraud, and other digital crimes.

As software has migrated online and into a computing "cloud," one of his department’s current principal goals is to help establish the legal foundation for this next generation of technology.

Before joining Microsoft in 1993, Smith was a partner at Covington & Burling, having worked in the firm's Washington, D.C., and London offices. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University and received his law degree at the Columbia University School of Law. He also studied international law and economics at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Smith has written numerous articles and commentaries regarding international intellectual property and Internet policy issues, and has served as a lecturer at The Hague Academy of International Law.