World Intellectual Property Day highlights value of intellectual property to business and society
Geneva, April 24, 2003
Press Releases PR/2003/344
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) marked this year's World Intellectual Property Day with a call for society to be more involved in matters relating to intellectual property. "Making intellectual property your business" the theme of this year's World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, 2003, highlights the key role of intellectual property both in achieving business success and in enhancing our daily lives. It is an appeal for entrepreneurs to fully capitalize on their intellectual assets by using the tools of the intellectual property system to advance their business goals and a wider call for civil society to recognize that respect for intellectual property rights is of benefit not only to creators but to society as a whole.
Within today's increasingly knowledge-based, innovation-driven economies, the intellectual property system is key to wealth creation as it provides an incentive for enterprises and individuals to create and innovate, provides a fertile setting for the development of, and trade in, intellectual assets, and creates a stable environment for domestic and foreign investment.
To mark the occasion, the Director General of WIPO, Dr. Kamil Idris, released the following message:
"Making intellectual property your business - the theme for this year's World Intellectual Property Day - highlights the key role of intellectual property both in achieving success for business and in enhancing daily life for us all.
It is an appeal to entrepreneurs to fully capitalize on their intellectual assets and to use the tools of the intellectual property system to advance their business goals. A company's intangible assets - ranging from human capital and know-how to inventions, brands, designs and other products of its creativity and innovation - are, today, often more valuable than a company's physical assets. Intellectual property is a vital ingredient in securing the commercial success of any company wishing to stay ahead of the field in creating innovative new products, finding modern and cost-effective ways to manufacture old ones, expanding market-share and generating customer loyalty. It is therefore in the interests of business to make best use of their intangible assets by embracing the opportunities offered by the intellectual property system.
Making intellectual property your business is also a wider call for civil society to recognize that respect for intellectual property rights is of benefit not only to creators but to society as a whole. The intellectual property system enables innovators and creators to mint marketable inventions and works from the raw material of their artistry and ingenuity. This makes the intellectual property system a driver of technological development and ensures a force for the enrichment of our global cultural heritage, and a powerful tool for wealth creation for the benefit of all.
The history of human progress is one of opportunity. Today, universal acceptance and the strategic use of intellectual property offers an opportunity for individuals, businesses and countries to convert their creative resources into economic assets capable of generating wealth and contributing to a more secure future. A strong national commitment to the intellectual property system ensures the establishment of an environment within which the creative and innovative potential of a country may flourish.
Intellectual assets are the principal currency of today's knowledge economy. Economic success, and associated social and cultural benefits, hinge on the generation and management of innovation, information and ideas. Harnessed by the intellectual property system, these drive the incredible forward thrust of technological and cultural development and thereby spawn new growth industries.
WIPO proclaims the universal value of intellectual property, which marks the world's evolution, contributes to the progress of societies and is a key element in securing sustained economic, social and cultural development. Creativity is an infinite resource, native to all peoples and relevant to all times and cultures. Let us forge our common future today by embracing intellectual property as a way to use that creativity for the betterment of humankind."
In 2000, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) designated 26 April, the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO entered into force in 1970, to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development and growth of societies across the globe and to highlight the importance and practical use of intellectual property in our daily lives.
To mark the occasion in Geneva, a local cinema, the CAC Voltaire, will screen two classic films on April 26th, both related to intellectual property, namely, Fountainhead (1949) directed by King Vidor and Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) directed by Francis Ford Coppola. These films respectively, tell the stories of Howard Roark, played by Gary Cooper and Preston Tucker, played by Jeff Bridges, and their individual struggles to protect and earn a living from their ideas.
Details of events organized in various countries to mark World Intellectual Property Day 2002 are available on the WIPO web site: https://www.wipo.int.
For further information, please contact the Media Relations & Public Affairs Section at WIPO: tel: +41 22 338 81 61 or 339 9547; e-mail: publicinf@wipo.int.