WIPO DG Daren Tang Gives a Keynote Address to IPIRA Conference
March 27, 2021
WIPO Director General Daren Tang gave the keynote address to the third edition of the annual Intellectual Property and Innovation Researchers of Asia (IPIRA) Conference on March 24, 2021.
Director General Tang stressed the role of academic researchers as active participants in the development of their countries. He highlighted the importance of countries in the Asia region as global innovation leaders, and the timely opportunity the Conference provided to hear the voices of intellectual property (IP) academics and researchers from the region.
We must now step our work in helping countries use IP as a tool for development, and harness its power as a catalyst for jobs, enterprise growth and ultimately economic and social development. And we have to reach out to new stakeholders like SMEs, youths, women and communities, helping them understand and use IP to take their ideas to the world […] I therefore encourage and urge you, as you embark on your journey as researchers, to not just be distant observers but also active participants in the development journey of your countries.
Daren Tang, WIPO Director General
The Third Edition of the IPIRA
The third edition of the IPIRA took place virtually from March 24 to 27, 2021 and was co-organized by the WIPO Academy, World Trade Organization, the International Islamic University of Malaysia, the University of Indonesia, Nanyang Technological University, Texas A&M University School of Law, and the University of Geneva.
Over 160 IP professors, researchers, experts and academics from more than 60 countries participated in the virtual edition of the IPIRA. The conference covered all areas of IP in relation to innovation, and the research papers presented included themes such as women entrepreneurs, knowledge spillovers, patent data, child creators and innovators, access to essential technologies, and music sampling among others.
What is the IPIRA?
The IPIRA is a network of academics, researchers and those working in IP and innovation related national, regional and international organizations. IPIRA provides participants the opportunity to exchange and share information on current developments in the field. WIPO Academy supports the organization of the IPIRA on annual basis to strengthen the links between academic research in IP and innovation with evidence-based policy making, and the needs of industry, including entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The IPIRA offers a platform for researchers from developing countries, least-developed countries and countries in transition to present their work-in-progress and get in-depth feedback analysis on their research. It also gives educators the opportunity to enhance the quality of their scholarship and IP teaching based on best practices.