2. BACKGROUND The Intellectual Property Strategy fits in with the efforts being made by the Government of Mozambique to stimulate Research and Development (R&D), the industrialization of our country, cultural creativity, an appreciation of local resources and local creativity and, in this context, the establishment of a legal and institutional framework increasingly designed to stimulate and consolidate the strengthening of IP in Mozambique. These efforts are the concrete result of the commitment given by the Mozambican State which, in the Constitution of the Republic, enshrined rules and principles on the right to creativity and to the protection of property created by the mind – rules and principles that were then embodied in a range of legal instruments establishing the legal regime governing the grant and protection of copyright and related rights, on the one hand, and industrial property, on the other, together with accession to the principal regional and international legal instruments on IP. In the context of these efforts, and mindful of the fact that IP constitutes one of the most important supports for research and development (R&D) activities likely to encourage the innovation necessary for the competitiveness of enterprises, the government – reaffirming its commitment to stimulate creativity and protect the fruits of this creativity using mechanisms to ensure the allocation of rights to exclusive enjoyment and the punishment of unfair competition, including piracy and infringement – intends to consolidate the existing institutional framework. Conscious, too, that the creation of these mechanisms is not in itself a guarantee of the establishment of an efficient system, the government recommends the adoption of an IP strategy that, in line with the country’s needs and priorities and the resources available, is designed to produce the best solutions for development and, above all, for fighting absolute poverty. With this in mind, the Government of Mozambique has already taken a series of initiatives designed to produce a legal and institutional framework and has undertaken a series of concrete actions with a view to establishing and developing the intellectual property system.