By Sherika Hall
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – The Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) has announced its activities for Intellectual Property Week, which will be observed from Sunday, April 24 to Friday, April 29.
On Sunday, April 24, there will be a church service at the Transformed Life Church on Hagley Park Road in Kingston, followed by the official launch of Intellectual Property Week on Monday, April 25 via Zoom.
A round-table discussion will be held on Tuesday, April 26 in observance of World Intellectual Property Day, under the theme ‘IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future’. The discussion will take place in a hybrid format.
JIPO will, on Wednesday, April 27, host an interactive session with staff and students that will equip youth about intellectual property rights (IP). On Thursday, April 28, there will be a youth innovation and transformation session, and a question-and-answer session via the company’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram platforms.
On Friday, April 29, there will be an IP career corner session, under the theme ‘Create, animate, innovate’.
Persons interested in participating in the different activities can visit the JIPO website.
Copyright and Related Rights Manager at JIPO, Shantal English, told JIS News that Intellectual Property Week is an opportunity for youth to learn about the role that IP rights play in innovation and creativity.
English said that “once we think about intellectual property, we must think about economic growth. If it is that we can encourage youth from this stage to be involved in innovation and protect their innovations by using the intellectual property rights system, we certainly will see development,” she added. “JIPO has always worked with youth and has been working with the ministry of education to see how best IP can be infused in the curriculum for primary and secondary schools. We have hosted various webinars and IP presentations for schools, and we continue to do so. We believe in creating a space to share the importance and value of intellectual property rights protection, so that young innovators can learn about protecting their work.”
Various entities are being invited to participate in the week-long activities. These include, but are not limited to, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO); Development Bank of Jamaica, Inter-American Development Bank, 4-H Clubs, European Union Intellectual Property Office; universities and the US Embassy.
Intellectual Property Week is celebrated in April of each year to coincide with World Intellectual Property Day celebrated on April 26 by the more than 190 member states of the WIPO.
The Jamaica Intellectual Property Office celebrates for an entire week, because as an agency of the ministry of industry, investment and commerce, the importance of sharing knowledge and raising awareness about intellectual property rights protection and the use of IP tools is critical and central to economic development.
