GENEVA - The power of ideas as the seedbed for innovation and creativity is the theme of this year’s World Intellectual Property (IP) Day celebrated on April 26, 2006. In his message to mark the sixth World IP Day, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Dr. Kamil Idris, emphasized the limitless value of ideas in inspiring the work of inventors and creators from which all ultimately benefit.
"World Intellectual Property Day is an opportunity to encourage people to think about the role played by intellectual property in everyday life, and about its importance in stimulating and safeguarding innovation and creativity. This year, we celebrate the starting point of all intellectual property, the seeds from which all innovations and creative works grow - ideas," said Dr. Idris.
According to a press release by the Organization, countries around the world and members of the WIPO commemorated this day by organizing seminars, workshops, lectures and IP awareness campaigns.
General Director of Jordan's National Library, Mamoun Talhouni stressed, on this occasion, on enforcing an effective intellectual property protection system which will ensure the promotion of creativity and innovation and sustain cultural, technological and socio-economic development, ag-IP-news Agency reported.
In Algeria, the National Algerian Institute for Industrial Property (NAIIP) and the National Copyright Office (NCO) have jointly celebrated this day by conducting seminars on the Madrid Agreement and Protocol and on the rights of music producers. Other activities included an exhibition on industrial property as well as "Open Days" to highlight the work of the NCO.
The Egyptian Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology (ECIPIT), in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Department at the League of Arab States, organized a conference on "Intellectual Property in the Era of Information and communication Revolution." The conference centered around one theme which is fighting the illegal usage of software products, according to a press release by the ECIPIT.
In Tunisia, the Institut National de la Normalisation et de la Propriété Industrielle organized a seminar, in collaboration with WIPO and the National Office of Handicrafts, on the protection of creations in the handicrafts sector.
Meanwhile, the Intellectual Property Rights Department of Dubai Customs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) organized a seminar to commemorate the IP Day. The seminar stressed on creating a conducive investment environment in the UAE by bringing down piracy to minimal levels and providing effective protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), AME Info reported.
In India, the National Intellectual Property Organization (NIPO) organized a seminar on the “Data Protection Laws,” in New Delhi which examined the growing concern over databases and personal privacy protection covered by the Indian Copyright Act.
WIPO member states decided, in 2000, to designate a World Intellectual Property Day to raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in peoples’ daily lives, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development of societies across the globe. April 26 was chosen as this was the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO entered into force in 1970.