Today, 26 April 2020, is World IP Day, a day dedicated to celebrating and learning about intellectual property rights. Each year the World Intellectual Property Organisation decides on a theme and, for 2020, the theme is “Innovate for a Green Future”.
A core purpose of IP is to give exclusive use and commercialisation rights to those who develop new products or services so that they are sufficiently motivated to spend the time, effort and money required to innovate.
In the realm of “green future”:
- Patents can be used to protect new green energy systems and circular economy recycling methods;
- Designs have been used to protect a modular mattress allowing parts to be replaced rather than disposing of the whole product thereby reducing landfill;
- Trade marks are used to identify goods or services which hold a particular certification such as being animal cruelty free; and
- Plant breeders rights allow a creator of a new stable plant variety to control the reproduction of the variety.
As you go about your day today, think about the goods and services you come into contact with and how IP played a role in making them available to you.
If you are taking time during lockdown to work on something new and want to know more about intellectual property, contact our expert Donna Patane.
