April 26th is World Intellectual Property Day, promoted by WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The theme of World IP day 2024 is “Ip and SDGs: building a common future with innovation and creativity”.
The World Intellectual Property Day was established in 2000 by the Wipo Member States, with the goal of promoting the general awareness in the field of IP and in particular to highlight the important role of intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, patents, design and copyright in fostering and encouraging global growth and prosperity.
Intellectual Property and SDGs
After dedicating the World IP Day 2023 to the role of women in innovation, this year WIPO shines a light on another important theme: the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 2030 Agenda for a Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015 by United Nation Member States, defines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all interconnected, that aim to address central social, economic and environmental issues, such as poverty, right to health, the climate change, the protection of the environment and the social and gender equality.
This goals, and their related 169 targets, outline a plan of action, agreed by all States, to achieve a better and more sustainable future.
In particular, World IP Day 2024 wants to highlight how intellectual property and innovation are central factors in accelerating the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for our planet, facing global challenges and achieving the SDGs by 2030.
The report, published by WIPO, on patents in relation to SDGs, titled “Mapping Innovations. Patents and the Sustainable Development Goals” provides interesting insights on this matter.
The report shows how patents represent 13 of the 17 SDGs and, in particular, that 31,4% of the active patent families are related to the SDGs.
As pointed out by Christopher Harrison, WIPO Patent Analytics Manager, in WIPO Magazine “IP empowers decision-makers, policymakers, and innovators to make data-driven choices, allocate resources effectively, and foster collaboration in those areas where inventive contributions are most needed. With insights from patents informing us on innovation as it relates to the Sustainable Development Goals, we can together actively shape our shared future.”