World IP Day 2020 – Celebrating Creativity And Innovation
World Intellectual Property Day was founded by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 as a means of increasing general understanding of intellectual property. The day is celebrated globally on April 26th each year. This April date also marks the day on which the WIPO convention came into force in 1970!
Today World IP Day offers a truly unique way to connect with like-minded people from around the globe from the world of IP. According to WIPO the event enables people “to consider how IP contributes to the flourishing of music and the arts and to driving the technological innovation that helps shape our world”.
This year World IP Day marks the importance of IP rights when it comes to creativity and innovation in building a greener world, with the overarching theme in 2020 to “Innovate for a Green Future.”
Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General shares his personal tribute and message highlighting the critical importance of green innovation to address climate change on World IP Day, 2020
What’s happening in 2020?
WIPO’s annual efforts to celebrate World IP Day traditionally include the coordination of their World IP Day map of events highlighting activities around the globe with their many partners and platform users. Due to the current pandemic and the need to keep everybody safe and well, WIPO has not organized any physical activities or events this year and has encouraged the World IP Day community to move all celebrations online, to virtual platforms.
Some suggested virtual activities that you and your organization can take part in to help promote this year’s theme and engage the public, media, business as well as schools and universities, include running online IP themed essay competitions, virtual workshops, publish articles and deliver webinars on IP themes.
World IP Day – events and resources
WIPO has put together a series of virtual events and educational resources on this green theme for IP professionals:
World IP Day pledge map
Any and all pledgers are welcome! Whether you are a corporation, a government office, a research institution, a charitable foundation, a start up, an inventor, a researcher or an invested individual, WIPO are looking for your support. If you would like to get involved and stand up for a green future, then sign the World IP Day pledge map today!
Global webinars
WIPO is hosting a series of live webinars on innovation for a green future currently, which finish up on May 5th 2020. These webinars are hosted by many different member states, including Nigeria, Paraguay, the USA, India, Indonesia and China.
WIPO magazine
Issue 1/2020 of the WIPO Magazine is dedicated to the connection between the IP world and green innovation.
Online articles
A series of five online articles published by WIPO and by freelance journalist John Zarocostas and Pape-Tahirou Kanouté, Agricultural economist, ETDS, Ziguinchor, Senegal, and Michele Evangelista, Lisbon Registry, WIPO cover various topics such as “How Trademarks Can Promote Sustainability” and make for some interesting reading.
Promotion toolkit
WIPO’s toolkit contains a variety of resources to enable you to build your own campaigns around the theme of innovating for a greener future. Some of WIPO’s key campaign messages include: “Let’s celebrate all the pioneering inventors and creators who are working to shape a future that is green and from which we will all benefit” and “New climate-friendly innovation and new thinking are needed urgently to tackle the climate crisis and achieve a green future. The IP system can incentivize this”.
Social media kit
Another way in which you can get involved is by sharing the news via your social media accounts. WIPO has put together a handy social media kit for enthusiasts to utilize, which contains a series of print-ready publicity materials, including a poster, postcard, bookmark and pictogram.
Case studies
WIPO is looking for examples of best practice by stakeholders in this area to share with their audience. Your case study submissions can be made online and they may be shared on the World IP Day webpage.
Go green
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