Green Innovation World Ip Day April 26

"Green Innovation," the theme of this year's World Intellectual Property (IP) Day hit a mark with IP stakeholders and engaged a broader public. The message from WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, "human ingenuity is our best hope" struck a positive note in audiences downhearted by gloomy economic forecasts and worried about environmental problems.

Following the announcement of the "Green Innovation" theme for IP Day, Mr. Gurry also announced, in February, the establishment of the WIPO Carbon Neutrality Project (see box). April marked the beginning of concrete work on the project.

The WIPO Magazine Green Innovation Special Issue reinforced the IP Day message with articles that highlighted the links between innovation and with the IP system. The Special Issue proved very popular, going into reprint weeks after its first release, and bringing in more letters and feedback than any other issue. The idea of making the IP Day materials available for download, in the spirit of the Day's green theme, was also well-received.

Never has there been such an outflow of creativity in the posters from Member States and observers for the World IP Day web gallery. WIPO had received activity reports from some 60 countries and organizations when this issue went to print. This year several countries held multiple events, organized jointly or separately by ministries, industrial property offices, universities, private sector enterprises and other stakeholders. In addition, 12 WIPO awards were presented to inventors, creators and enterprises in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, the Russian Federation and the Slovak Republic.

Activity reports

Africa

Both the Algerian and Moroccan copyright offices organized national seminars. The Algerian seminar dealt with the IP protection of computer programs and the theme of Morocco's event was "Copyright and related rights: practices, measures and procedures of protection."

The Institut de la Francophonie pour l'Entrepreneuriat (Francophone Entrepreneurship Institute), based in Mauritius, organized an IP information and green innovation campaign in Benin. The Rand Institute for Policy and Education aligned IP Day celebrations in Kenya with the World Book and Copyright Day to hold a National Innovation Week.

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