The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General, Francis Gurry issuing a message on the Intellectual Property Day yesterday emphasised the importance of increasing the full participation of women in the field of innovation and creativity to better promote economic, social and cultural development of all countries.
Noting that innovation and creativity carry a number of benefits, Gurry stressed that WIPO is committed to promote economic , social and cultural development of all countries through a balanced and effective intellectual property system.
According to WIPO, this year Intellectual Property Day celebrates the brilliance, ingenuity and courage of the women who are driving change in the world and shaping the common future.
Meanwhile, WIPO, Copyright Development Division Director Gao Hang speaking at a high level sub-regional workshop for policy makers on Empowering Creativity for Sustainable Development and the Role of Copyright , held in Colombo yesterday said that innovation and creativity plays a vital role in any knowledge based , digital economy.
“WIPO is mandated to promote the respect and protection of intellectual property including copyrights as a whole. Also WIPO has been working with member countries especially with countries in South Asia to promote the development of copyright systems in order to maximize the role of the system for the encouragement and protection of national creative industries and the same time taking care of the needs and interests of all concerned parties.”
WIPO has also been working closely with developing, underdeveloped and least developed countries including those from the South Asian region to develop and update national and legal policy framework in the field of copyrights and to promote better understanding of the usefulness of international copyright frameworks and to work with the respective governments and stakeholders to establish infrastructure for the protection and the management of copyrights.
Director Hang also commended the efforts, the government of Sri Lanka has been making in developing intellectual property including copyrights systems aimed at creating national creativity and intellectual property including copyrights as an enabler for the national sustainable development.
She also expressed hope that efforts made by the government of Sri Lanka in the field of IP and copyright systems would make a bigger contribution towards wealth creation, trade and so on.