Celebrate World Intellectual Property Day on April 26: “Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined”

Geneva, April 25, 2016
PR/2016/791

From Shakespeare to selfies, culture has changed over the centuries as creators have adapted new technologies to connect with ever-widening audiences.

But few other shifts have had quite the impact of the digital creation and distribution of art, music, literature and other cultural outputs, which has fashioned new mass audiences while disrupting business models and pressuring many creators’ livelihoods. That’s why World IP Day 2016 is exploring “Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined.”

“The whole way in which creative works are produced around the world, the sorts of works that are produced, the way they are distributed, and the way they are consumed or enjoyed worldwide has been reimagined as a consequence of digital technology,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

“On this day, as we celebrate digital creativity across the world, we should also think about how to find the right balance - one which recognizes the importance of creators and innovators to all the progress that we see, culturally and technologically, as a consequence of digital technology,” said Mr. Gurry.

“Please join in this challenge of finding the right balance to reward the creators and innovators who enrich our lives, while at the same time ensuring the social benefit of widespread access to their works,” he said.

WIPO’s member states initiated World IP Day in 2000 to raise public awareness about the role of IP in daily life, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and creators to the development of societies across the globe.

Underscoring its commitment to promoting the widest-possible access to digital learning and creativity, WIPO is also announcing today a new accessible and responsive format to help people with visual impairments participate in the WIPO Academy Distance Learning Program’s flagship eLearning course, the General Course on Intellectual Property.

On the World IP Day Facebook page, music, art and film aficionados can find posts showing the role intellectual property plays in unlocking and promoting artists’ creativity – and in helping them make a living from their work.

The World IP Day community is invited to share reports, images and videos from their own World IP Day celebrations on Facebook and other social media platforms with the hashtag #WorldIPDay.