Note No 186
23 April 2002

ENCOURAGING CREATIVITY

The second World Intellectual Property Day
On 26 April 2002

"Encouraging Creativity" is the theme of the second World Intellectual Property Day observed on 26 April. This motto "expresses the conviction that human inventiveness, harnessed by the intellectual property system, is key to generating wealth, raising living standards and enriching our global cultural heritage," said Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of the Geneva based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Member States of the Organisation decided two years ago to designate April 26, the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO entered into force in 1970, for special activities to highlight the importance and practical use of intellectual property. The main goal is to draw attention to the significance of creativity and innovation in people's daily lives and in the betterment of society.

Human progress in fields, like environmental protection, food security and health care is boosted by the ability to generate new ideas and foresee a better future. WIPO’s commitment to the development of a universal culture of creativity generates the mission of the organization: the worldwide encouragement of the system to protect intellectual property. This will contribute to the strengthening of economic performance and to an improved quality of life.

WIPO encourages its Member States and the interested governmental and non-governmental organizations to participate in the celebration of the World Intellectual Property Day 26 April 2002. The celebration is to be focused on the local level, involving schools, local businesses, chambers of commerce and the media. The suggested activities as follows:

  • Organization of public performances to encourage respect for creators and creativity
  • Essay competition in local schools: "How creativity and innovation improve the world"
  • Workshops and conferences involving local businesses and chambers of commerce
  • Radio, television materials, editorials in order to draw attention to creativity
  • Creation of locally-focused intellectual property materials (posters, brochures etc)
  • Competition for the best invention
  • Exhibits in shopping malls -- how customers benefit from strong brands for instance.

Among European activities to observe the second World Intellectual Property Day are a meeting in Moscow of the Eurasian patent attorneys; and a two-day conference on 25/26 April in Lisbon for Directors of the Motion Picture Association’s national programmes on anti-piracy issues and strategies.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation was founded in 1971 in order to help ensure the right of creators and owners of intellectual property protected worldwide and that mentors and authors are thus recognized and rewarded for their ingenuity. The WIPO as a specialized agency of the United Nations system of organizations provides a forum for its member states to create and harmonize rules and practices of protection of intellectual property. While the industrialized countries have a centuries old tradition in the field of protection, the area is less known among small and medium enterprises and regarded as a completely new topic in the developing countries. As a result of Intellectual Property being regarded as a key tool of economic growth WIPO focuses its activities on the facilitation of access and on the development of the protection systems of copyrights, trademarks and patterns of the developing countries. The organization provides legal and technical assistance and training in order to enforce the national protection systems.

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