Monday, April 26, 2021, World Intellectual Property Day was celebrated. This week is meant to educate about the "role that intellectual property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity." According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), intellectual property is the "creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce."
"This year, on World Intellectual Property Day, we celebrate the innovators and creators who enrich our lives and create the products, services, companies, and industries of tomorrow. We especially recognize the power of intellectual property protection in allowing our small businesses to compete, thrive, and play their important role as the heart and soul of our communities and the engines of our economic progress." This introduction to President Biden's "A Proclamation on World Intellectual Property Day" nicely summarizes why it is important to recognize and protect intellectual property.
History of World IP Day
The World Intellectual Property Organization began World Intellectual Property Day in 2000. WIPO is a global forum for IP services and information and is a self-funded agency of the United Nations. WIPO wanted to "promote and protect creative ideas." April 26 was chosen as the official celebration date because the WIPO Convention came into force on that date in 1970.
Intellectual Property & Small Businesses: Taking Big Ideas to Market
Every year, World IP Day has a theme for the celebration. They have ranged from "Movies - a Global Passion," "Innovation - Improving Lives," and "Innovate for a Green Future." This year the theme is "IP & SMEs: Taking your ideas to market" and focuses on the role of small and medium enterprises and how intellectual property rights can be a tool for them. WIPO offers resources on a variety of topics for SMEs. Technology is major proponent for any business, and World IP Day recognizes this. WIPO offers "How to Protect Inventions Internationally with the PCT" and a support center for SMEs in regard to technology and innovation. WIPO also has information for Indigenous SMEs, agricultural products, and local products. See this page for more resources and topics that WIPO has available.
The OSU Library's Patent and Trademark Resource Center assists inventors and researchers with preliminary patent and trademark searches using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and international databases as well as helping searchers understand where to go to register their unique creations and find other information. Contact the office by phone or email (405) 744-6546 or suzanne.reinman@okstate.edu.
UPSTO, along with the U.S. Copyright Office, American Intellectual Property Law Association, and more organizations, are hosing a 90 minute program for the celebration!
For more basic information, WIPO provides helpful and simple info.
This association provides more information from a law background about World IP Day.
As the global forum for IP, WIPO is the backbone of the anything related to intellectual property.
~Nadia
Comments