World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated on April 26 to raise awareness about intellectual properties and how copyright, trademark, patents, etc. protect them. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was established this day in 2000. The purpose of World Intellectual Property Day is to raise awareness about the types and importance of intellectual property protection. The idea for this day was first shared in September 1988 at the 33rd Assembly Session of the WIPO Member States. World Intellectual Property Day was officially established on August 9, 1999.
Top IP Filings – What has changed over the years?
IP filings have increased during the last seven years, owing to technological developments and globalisation. Patents, trademarks, and industrial designs are the most widely filed categories of IP
Top IP Fields
Computer technology, electrical machinery, and pharmaceuticals are the industries with the most IP registrations. These industries are known for their innovation and competitiveness – with major advancements in these fields especially after COVID-19 have paved way for companies/ inventors/ scientists to aggressively file and protect their ideas and innovations.
Top patent filing companies
Over the years, several companies and organizations have emerged as top patent holders in a particular year. International Business Machines was the leading patent holder in 2022, according to International Financial Institutions (IFIs) with over 9,000 published patents. Samsung, Canon, Microsoft, and Intel are among the top patent holders. For years, these companies were continuously placed among the top patent holders, displaying their commitment to innovation as well as their intention on safeguarding their intellectual property rights.
Top patent filing countries
According to WIPO’s data, the most preferred geography for protecting the innovations is United States, followed by Japan and China. Since US is the strongest economy, it is but obvious that most of the companies are safeguarding their inventions by filing patents mostly in US. Another reason for patent protection is US could be the monetization potential of patents – most of the litigations/ infringements occurs in US, thereby automatically increasing the valuation of US patents.
In China, it is observed that in the recent past a large number of Chinese Utility Models are being filed which are never examined by the patent office examiners. The whole purpose of filing more utility models is to debar others from legally practicing the same invention.
World Intellectual Property Day Theme 2023>
Every year the world IP day is celebrated with a theme which is decided by WIPO
World Intellectual Property Day themes over the past years:
|
Year |
World Intellectual Property Day Theme |
|
2022 |
IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future |
|
2021 |
IP and SMEs: Taking Your Ideas to Market |
|
2020 |
Innovate for a Green Future |
|
2019 |
Reach for Gold: IP and Sports |
|
2018 |
Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity |
|
2017 |
Innovation – Improving Lives |
|
2016 |
Digital Creativity: Culture Reimagined |
|
2015 |
Get Up, Stand Up. For Music |
|
2014 |
Movies – a Global Passion |
|
2013 |
Creativity – The Next Generation |
This year (2023), the theme of World Intellectual Property is “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity”.
In 2023, we celebrate the “can do” attitude of women inventors, creators and entrepreneurs around the world and their ground-breaking work.
Women in all regions are shaping the world through their imagination, ingenuity and hard work, but often face significant challenges in accessing the knowledge, skills, resources and support they need to thrive.
PIC: Theme by WIPO
Celebrating innovative, creative and enterprising women around the world. The World Intellectual Property Day Gallery features women from around the world who have contributed key inventions. We would like to acknowledge a few key women innovators in the field of IP and their roles and achievements
Nina Archie
Program Manager
Department of Defense, Office of Small Business Programs
Nina Archie is a Program Manager at the Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs supporting the small business policy programs portfolio and additional program management duties as a contractor. Ms. Archie has held positions in the public and private sector in the focus area of business innovation. Ms. Archie is a former Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Alison Erickson
Assistant General Counsel
Hallmark Cards
Alison Erickson serves in the Intellectual Property, Product & Trade Compliance Center of Excellence in the Legal department of Hallmark Cards. As Assistant General Counsel, Alison provides in-house legal services to all areas of the company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, partnering with innovation, product development, supply chain, sustainability, marketing, and product integrity groups at both Hallmark and Crayola
Susanne Hollinger
Vice President, Chief IP Counsel
Newell Brands
Susanne Hollinger is a registered patent attorney and currently Chief IP Counsel at Newell Brands, a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands across a wide range of technologies, where her team is responsible for all global intellectual property-related matters. Prior to joining Newell Brands, Susanne served as the Head of Patents for The Coca-Cola Company as well as the Chief IP Officer at Emory University.
Marlene Valderrama
Senior IP Assets Manager & Lead Technology Scout
Halliburton
Marlene Valderrama is a Senior IP Assets Manager & Lead Technology Scout at Halliburton overseeing two of its largest divisions, Sperry Drilling and Wireline & Perforating. She has a decade of experience managing IP portfolios and driving IP creation within R&D. Prior to joining the IP world, Marlene was a drilling engineer, drilling in North Dakota for Schlumberger and a field sales engineer for Northrop Grumman in Maryland. She is a registered patent agent, holds an MBA from the University of Houston.
MCRPL has been ranked as the best company for women to work for four years in a row.
With over 70% of its workforce being women, we are very proud to say that Molecular Connections is ranked among the top 10 best companies for women to work for in India.
Molecular Connections continues to break all stereotypes and is headstrong in its mission of empowering women. Testimony to the fact is the award by Working Mother and Avtar – best place for women to work for in 2020. This is the fourth time in a row that the organization won the award.
Molecular Connections is ranked among the top 10 best companies for Women to work in India based on women recruitment, highest percentage of women in leadership roles, retention & advancement, safety & security measures, flexible work hours, benefits and work/life program, parental leave, best practices for women career enablement and advancements, company culture, and management accountability. This evaluation was based on a study by Working Mother and Avtar Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) in 2020.
Women at MC are leading various roles including leadership. MC opened up a plethora of employment opportunities to women scientists who did not prefer to be part of the wet labs but wanted to make their contributions in In-silico research and aid drug discovery. Further, the company has been influencing the curriculum of educational institutions and encouraged the inclusion of life science curation as a subject. The students are then trained at our incubation centers, who finally go to hold various important roles at MC.
