Every year on April 26, World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated in order to “raise awareness of the impact of patents, copyrights, trademarks and designs on everyday life” and “to celebrate the creativity and contribution of artists and innovators for the development of society throughout the world. “Every year, on April 26, events dedicated to intellectual property are held around the world and every year a different motto is dedicated to this day. This year the events will be mostly virtual.
The motto of this year’s World Intellectual Property Day is “IP & SMEs: Taking your ideas to market” because SMEs are the main engine for economic development and growth in the post-pandemic world. SMEs represent more than 90% of all companies in the world. SMEs face a number of challenges and have no idea how intellectual property can become a powerful tool for development. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is coordinating a global campaign to highlight the place of intangible assets in SMEs and their value to the growth of SMEs. WIPO provides comprehensive information on how SMEs can protect their intellectual property rights, as well as numerous case studies from around the world that tell the stories of SMEs that use intellectual property rights to turn ideas into business opportunities and to generate value.