World Intellectual Property Day, 2019

Category
World Affairs
Published
10th May, 2019

The World Intellectual Property Day is observed all over the world on April 26^th. Creators and inventors such as artists, developers, content creators, musicians, actors and producers, among others connect with each other to talk about how intellectual property rights contribute to the world we live in.

Context

About

World Intellectual Property Day is also known as World IP Day. It was established by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
On this day, the WIPO works together with various government agencies, non-government organizations, community groups and individuals to hold different events and activities to promote the day.

Background

In October 1999, the General Assembly of the WIPO approved the idea of declaring a particular day as a World Intellectual Property Day.
In 2000, the WIPO designated 26 April as an annual World Intellectual Property Day to address the perceived gap between Intellectual Property as a business/legal concept and its relevance to people’s lives.
April 26 was specifically chosen as the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, first entered into force in 1970 on this date.
Intellectual property involves laws around trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Safeguarding one's intellectual property is a necessity in this ultra-competitive digital world.

Aim :

It promotes the role of IP in stimulating innovation and creativity.

Theme of 2019 :

The theme for this year is ‘Reach for Gold: IP and Sports.’ This year’s theme dives into the world of sports. It explores how innovation, creativity and the IP rights support the development of sport and its enjoyment around the world.

Why Sports?

Lately, sports have become an industry of its own, generating multi-billion dollars and employing millions of people around the world. Sports businesses use patents and designs for development of new sports technologies, materials, training, and equipment. Business relationships built on IP rights help to secure the economic value of sports.