Bolanle Olowu, E-Mail: Bolanle@ipiwatchservice.com
27 April 2009
Lagos — The World Intellectual Property Day is on April 26 this year. This event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 2001 to 'raise awareness of the role of Intellectual property in our daily lives, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators and artists to the development of societies across the globe'.
Each year, a message or theme is associated with the event. Past themes include 2001- creating the future today, 2002- Encouraging creativity, 2003- Make Intellectual property your Business, 2004- Encouraging creativity, 2005- Think, Imagine, Create, 2006- It starts with an Idea, 2007- Encouraging Creativity, 2008-Celebrating Innovation and Promoting Respect for Intellectual Property and in celebration of the World Intellectual Property Day 2009, WIPO is using 'GREEN INNOVATION' as its theme to promote green innovation as the key to a secured future.
Celebrating World Intellectual Property Day started in October, 1999 when the General Assembly of WIPO approved the idea of declaring a particular day as a World Intellectual Property Day in order to promote the celebration of Intellectual Property each year and to further promote the awareness of intellectual Property protection. The aim is to expand the influence of intellectual property protection across the world, urge countries to publicise and popularise intellectual property protection laws and regulations, enhance the public legal awareness of intellectual property rights, encourage innovation activities in various countries and strengthen international exchange in the intellectual property field.
Below is this year's message from the Director General of WIPO Mr. Francis Gurry on the theme:
'Human Activity, including decades of technological developments, has changed our planet. Widespread pollution and spiralling consumption of the world's minerals and biological reserves have put unprecedented stress on the environment. Climate change is one of the greatest threats ever faced by society; glaciers are disappearing; desertification is increasing; in Africa alone, between 75 and 250 million people will face increased water shortages by 2020.
'As human activity caused the problem, so too can human activity find the solutions. GREEN INNOVATION - the development and diffusion of technological means to tackle climate change is key to halting the depletion of the earth's resources. The race is on to develop accessible alternative sources of energy, as we work to harness the wind and tides, capture the power of the sun, and tap the geothermal energy underground. New plant and environmentally friendly materials will help us construct a more sustainable world.
'On world Intellectual Protection Day 2009, WIPO highlights the contribution of a balanced intellectual property system to stimulating the creation, diffusion and application of clean technologies ; to promoting green design, aimed at creating product that are eco-friendly from conception to disposal; to green branding, helping consumers make informed choices and giving companies a competitive edge.
'The power of human ingenuity is our best hope for restoring the delicate balance between ourselves and our environment. It is our greatest assets in finding solutions to this global challenge, enabling us to move forward from the carbon based grey technologies of the past to the carbon - neutral, green innovation of the future'.
I know there are still some of us out there who wonder what this GREEN issue is all about, just like I did some years ago. In simple terms 'Going green' is a general term for encouraging environmentally friendly behaviour. Environmental friendly behaviour can vary from deciding to use a bicycle as a means of transport instead of cars to buying a product made of recycled paper. The list is endless and the key issue is to become more conscious of your environment and develop a caring attitude towards the upkeep and maintenance of a cleaner environment. We may think that our cleaner behaviour might not affect us but in ten or twenty years, the adverse effect of not taking care of our environment will become more visible by affecting health of people, plants and animals. Studies have shown that exposure to the natural environment or so called green space, has an advantage on health and health related behaviours.
The green trend is fast catching on especially in the Western world and as global trade continues to grow, a gesture as simple as re-printing on the blank back page of a printed paper goes a long way in reducing waste. This applies to a lot of law firms where juniors are sometimes requested to print hard copies for supervision by seniors. Many international law firms have showed their support of going green by adding a message signature at the bottom of their emails- phrases such as think before you print this page, do you really need to print this page, thank you for not printing this page have been used as part of their contributions to the environment.
Kudos to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN of Lagos State who has seen into the green future and has started his own contributions to a greener environment by planting trees all over the state. In case you are wondering how planting a tree can affect our environment, it is scientifically proven that whilst human beings breathe in oxygen and breath out carbon-dioxide, Green plants and trees utilise the carbon dioxide in the air during photosynthesis resulting in the production of oxygen. The oxygen given out replenishes or "oxygenates" the air, and improves the quality of the air.
The upcoming International Trademark Association (INTA) conference coming up in May at Seattle is also bringing the GREENest Annual Meeting to date. Eco friendly practices such as placement of recycling bins throughout the facility and utilisation of water stations instead of bottled water are some of the efforts of the organisation to support a greener environment.
My contribution to a greener Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole is to avoid printing from my computer if it is not necessary, what is yours?
WIPO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international Intellectual Property system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.
WIPO was established by the WIPO convention in 1967 with a mandate from its member states (Nigeria is a member state) to promote the protection of Intellectual Property throughout the world through cooperation amongst states and in collaboration with other International organisations. Its headquarters is in Geneva
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