26 Apr World Intellectual Property Day 2023
Today, 26th of April, we celebrate Intellectual Property Day. Have you ever wondered what intellectual property is and why is it important? If you think about it, we are surrounded by material and immaterial items that other people have invented, created and crafted.
“Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish”, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization.
These laws and rules protect the IP from misuse by third parties but, at the same time, guarantee that it is a right for every person to have their production protected, and it is recognised in the Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. The World Intellectual Property Day is commemorated every year to join forces with creators and innovators around the world and represents a chance to boost and support the innovation atmosphere at an international level.
This year’s moto and main focus is to boost women creators because, in words of the WIPO, “Women everywhere are: driving scientific breakthroughs, setting new creative trends, building businesses and transforming our world”. But the main problem is that too few of them are benefitting from IP, as they don’t participate in the IP system. This year marks the chance to encourage all of them to use the IP system to protect their work. This way, they can add value to their creations, which benefits all humankind because they can keep developing technology that is useful for everybody and leading relevant businesses. As women represent more than half of the human population, and throughout History, many are responsible for the technological advancement we are enjoying today, this year’s focus for the IP Day is really appropriate, as it highlights the importance of boosting creativity in all fields and the relevance for women to protect their work through the IP system.
Intelectual property at Contactica
Contactica we count on an Exploitation department led by our colleague Lisa Schneider, who guides the consortiums of R&D projects to protect scientific IP as well as to exploit the project’s work in the commercial field. Going further than the business world, IP protection within European Projects helps all entities to gain from their research and work in commercial and non-commercial manners. Because IP is often misunderstood within the scientific communities or even unknown by SMEs, training partners and helping them to benefit from their hard work is key to empower innovation within the European Union. Moreover, the role of the exploitation manager is to protect what knowledge partners bring to a project (called background IP) and guide them during their research process to secure their results (called foreground IP). At last,
«As European projects are encouraging gender equality during its implementation, as a woman, I take pride in accompanying all partners and especially female partners to understand the power of IP and how to benefit from it.».
— Lisa Schneider. Exploitation Manager at Contactica
Did you know this World Day? Do you also think it is important to protect innovation?
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