April 26 is World Intellectual Property Day, marking the date when the World Intellectual Property Organization Convention came into force in 1970. World Intellectual Property Day was established in 2000 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a self-funding agency of the United Nations whose “mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property (IP) system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.” World IP Day offers an opportunity each year to join with others around the globe to celebrate innovation and creativity and how IP fosters and encourages them.
The theme for this year, as announced by WIPO, is “Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined,” chosen so we may explore the future of culture in the digital age and “how we create it, how we access it, how we finance it.”
Learn more about World IP Day:
WIPO’s World IP Day site includes a global map of World IP Day activities , video interviews with artists and content creators, and articles about IP and digital creativity, such as “The Future of Gaming” and “The Brave New World of Wearable Technology.”
The United States Copyright Office is partnering with the Copyright Alliance to host a program in recognition of World IP Day on Tuesday, April 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (EDT) in the Mumford Room (6th Floor, James Madison Memorial Building, Library of Congress). “The program will feature remarks from Congressman Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, and Keith Kupferschmid, chief executive officer of the Copyright Alliance,” and “will celebrate creativity as it presents itself in our interconnected digital world. It also will highlight established creators who have mastered their crafts and who have created innovative revenue streams to pay fellow creators fairly.”
Enjoy World IP Day, and think about our digital future!
