Source- WIPO & IPGyan (Shail Bala Tripathy)
Every April 26, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day to learn about the role that Intellectual Property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity.
This COVID-19 outbreak has suddenly turned our happy-go-lucky; busy lives into something the humanity never expected. It restricted not only our physical movement but put a hold on our mental productivity and our emotional quotient as well. Watching nations changing into death valley haunts our hearts as just a month ago we were living in the best time of the century and now it seems the darkest.
But, if we look at it with a scientific approach COVID-19 speaks a different story altogether. It surely questions our version of “natural life” and how our ignorance of the rules of nature can create a climate crisis. Climate change is something towards which the world is worried and looking a way out. As it is often said- “ A stitch in time saves nine” many countries are now consciously trying to curb the carbon emission but still we are nowhere with it.
It is rightly said that “Crisis creates opportunities” this time the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has decided to theme the World Intellectual Property Day 2020 on “Innovate for green future” adhering to the need of time and concerns worldwide.
Green future, Yes! You heard it right the two contrasts of innovation and green future together. As it is a very common interpretation of what we have seen from the industrial revolution days that innovation, technology, development has to compromise ecology. The eco-industrial balance was never imagined with that much generosity, as a result, we got drifted from nature and the power of nature is seen as a barrier than our core.
But we live in a different era than our forefathers it’s super interesting how much power and resource we have to use for sustainability; to innovate in a way world becomes a better place. Don’t you think we have become the superspecies of having a choice to shape our future? As well known naturalist David Attenborough has noted- “as a species, we are expert problem solver”.
Intellectual property can play a super important role in all these issues of the modern world. The green economy needs eco-innovation and definitely, businesses supporting the notion, it is high time for us to explore and develop a healthy IP system which can fully support the green entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology. For Example, The Patent System can help protection of the green invention which will automatically support the environment as well as the innovator sustainably.
Design rights to protect the designers so that they can look and design the eco-industrial product, Trademark can play a vital role in supporting & protecting business brands and Copyrights can help the writers build a world of vision through their writing, Geographical Indication and Plant breeding rights goes in a similar manner.
Concluding, it is high time for all of us as individuals, businesses, innovators, government to work for the use of intellectual property policies or to collaborate on building a green future and protecting them for sustainable development in a robust way.