The following is a selection of events planned by various countries, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in observance of World Intellectual Property Day:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Algeria - National Algerian Institute for Industrial Property

The National Algerian Institute for Industrial Property (Institut National Algérien de la Propriété Industrielle or INAPI in French) has planned a program to celebrate the Day which will be oriented towards teachers at all levels, and will involve the Ministers concerned.

Apart from the official ceremony to mark the Day, there will be a seminar on the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement, in which experts will participate, as well as an exhibition on industrial property activities. Others participating will be high-level political figures, senior teachers in secondary schools and universities, and those interested in the economic aspects of the subject.

Algeria - Office National des droits d’auteur et des droits voisins

The National Copyright Office (ONDA in French) has planned the following program for the celebration of the Day in Algeria:

  • a seminar on April 26 and 27, 2006, on the rights of music producers, in collaboration with IFPI, with the Société Française des Producteurs de Phonogrammes (SCPPF), and with representatives of Belgian and Swiss producers;
  • reproduction of last year’s postage stamp commemorating the Day;
  • teaching about the Day and about the importance of intellectual property in educational institutions;
  • “Open Days” to show the work of the Office national des droits d’auteur et des droits voisins (ONDA) in the work of the collective management of copyright and related rights.

Australia

Australia will celebrate the Day with a series of events and activities across the nation to highlight the influence of intellectual property on our everyday lives. These include:

  • public seminars across Australia focusing on intellectual property education and celebration (visit www.worldipday.gov.au for a list of events);
  • a World IP Day web page, including event information, World IP Day count down and information about World IP Day;
  • the alignment of the launch of the National Australian Innovation Festival and World IP Day - a joint celebration of innovation and creativity;
  • the dissemination of the message of intellectual property and World IP Day, by chosen ambassadors;
  • an online chat to discuss innovation, protection and commercialisation;
  • the distribution of show bags to children visiting major science museums on World IP Day;
  • promotion of World IP Day and intellectual property in various publications, TV shows and websites;
  • the celebration by IP Australia staff of World IP Day with a ‘great debate’ and exciting quizzes.

More information about the activities and events occurring in Australia can be found at www.worldipday.gov.au.

Austria

The Austrian Patent Office will celebrate the Day by holding a seminar on industrial property rights for small and medium-sized enterprises - in which will feature the history and activities of WIPO - to increase awareness of the importance of industrial property rights. In addition, there will be a small exhibition using WIPO information material, and the message of the Director General of WIPO will be posted on the website of the Patent Office.

Barbados

The Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) celebrated the Day as follows:

  • the issue of press releases by the Government Information Services Community (April 15-26);
  • an interview on the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation daytime television program, “Chat Room” (April 25);
  • an Open Day, with the dissemination of brochures and powerpoint presentations, a display showing the history of innovation in Barbados, and a trade fair exhibiting local brands (April 26);
  • publication of the message of the Director General of WIPO in the Barbados Advocate and in the national newspapers (April 26).

Bahrain

The Directorate of Industrial Property celebrated the Day by distributing the WIPO outreach material, and by publishing in the newspapers a message from the Minister of Industry and Commerce. It also planned to print WIPO images on T-shirts and mugs for use by its staff.

Belarus - Information and Publishing firm “New Ideas”

The above-mentioned firm will be participating in a seminar on the Day, on the theme, “ Intellectual Property: Innovations and Investments.”

Belgium

The Belgian Intellectual Property Office will celebrate the Day as follows:

  • a display of WIPO posters and other WIPO information materials in the reading room in the main hall of its building, during the month of April;
  • a colloquium in Brussels, to be held on April 27, on counterfeiting and on respect for intellectual property rights, with main themes such as the economic impact of counterfeiting, the draft law on the prevention of counterfeiting and of piracy, and the draft law on civil law aspects of respect for intellectual property rights.

Belize

The Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO) will celebrate the Day with the following activities:

  • a seminar on national trademark legislation and on the international classification of goods and services according to the Nice Agreement;
  • a commemorative lunch hosted by BELIPO;
  • the broadcast of an advertisement entitled “Creative Belize” on television;
  • the creation of a link with information on the Day on the site www.belipo.bz.

Bhutan

To celebrate the Day, the Ministry of Trade and Industry organized a program of traditional dance and vocal music, after which certificates and prizes were awarded to the best in various categories, such as performers, musicians, film-makers and composers.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - EXIT Centre

The EXIT Centre, a non-governmental organization in Banja Luka which develops information technology expertise in young people, entrepreneurs, Universities, IT companies, the media and various organizations, celebrated the Day with the following activities:

  • the posting of WIPO promotional material at the Centre and on its website through April, including the message of the Director General of WIPO in the local language;
  • free consultancy services offered by Slavica Graorac on intellectual property issues from April 26-28 at the Centre;
  • the posting of advice on its website on the protection of ideas, as well as a Business Idea Competition;
  • local radio broadcasts about the Day, and about WIPO and the EXIT Centre’s activities for the promotion of intellectual property;
  • advertisements in the newspapers about the Day and about the EXIT Centre.

Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Patent Office will celebrate the Day as follows:

  • a seminar on April 26 and 27, in collaboration with the European Patent Academy and the Association of IP Representatives of Bulgaria, on the theme, "Protecting Inventions and Utility Models: Tools to Foster Business Development," to be held at the Maxi Hotel Center in Sofia, and to cover subjects such as innovation, patent law in Bulgaria, the role of a national Patent Office in Europe, and recent developments in utility model protection;
  • the dissemination on the mass media of information on the observance of the Day and on the importance of intellectual property for the economic and cultural development of the country;
  • an annual ceremony in which the names of the best inventors and their inventions in 2005 will be written in the Golden Book of Bulgarian Inventions, followed by a cocktail.

Burkina Faso - Bureau Burkinabé du Droit d'auteur (BBDA)

The BBDA has organized for April 26 a day of information to promote awareness of the importance of intellectual property, with a special focus on right-holders who have not yet had experience of the nature of their rights and the exercise of them. Around one hundred right-holders of different categories of rights will be invited to participate.

Canada - CIPO

As part of the World IP Day celebrations, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) is organizing an internal event on the theme, “It Starts with an Idea.” It will celebrate women's contribution to innovation (see www.cipo.gc.ca/worldipday).

To that end, CIPO is involving this year Inventive Women, Positive Living, Alexandra Larochelle, key departmental officials, IPIC, Canada Business, Canada Science and Technology Museum, Young Inventors International, and its regional officers to mark the day. Promotional products will be distributed to raise the awareness of intellectual property and innovation in Canada.

Canada - Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC)

To celebrate the Day, on April 26, IPIC will be hosting a reception on Parliament Hill for Canadian Parliamentarians, Government officials and representatives of IPIC.

China

The activities organized to celebrate the Day were as follows:

  • an exhibition on the theme “The China Achievements Exhibition on Intellectual Property Protection” at the Military Museum of the the Chinese People’s Revolution (April 16-23), participated in by central governmental agencies, key regions specified as important to IP in a special campaign, and large-scale enterprises, and which was visited by the Premier and Vice Premier, as well as by representatives of foreign embassies, enterprises and news media;
  • press conferences held by the State Council Information Office (March 27, April 11 and 19), giving status reports on progress in enforcement and protection in the field;
  • high-level forums, namely, a trademark protection forum (April 22) held by the daily and commercial Chinese press, the “Chinese and Foreign Enterprises IPR Summit Forum” (April 24) at the People’s Great Hall in Beijing, and the “China Intellectual Property Protection Summit 2006,” also at the People’s Great Hall;
  • large-scale reporting on intellectual property and creativity by the major media;
  • the launch of publicity activities by administrations for industry and commerce in various areas.

Costa Rica

The Registro Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial y Derechos de Autor y Conexos organized the following activities to celebrate the Day:

  • the transmission of a video on intellectual property;
  • distribution of informational and educational material;
  • an exhibition of works by two national artists, a writer, a cartoonist and three children;
  • the presence of three national inventors, to explain their inventions;
  • the participation of an official of a judicial authority, to show pirated goods that have been confiscated;
  • a national anti-piracy campaign on television;
  • a cycle of conferences on copyright and related rights in the main public schools in the country.

Côte d’Ivoire

The Government of Côte d’Ivoire, acting with the Ministry of French Language and Culture, will celebrate the Day on April 26 with the following activities:

  • an official declaration of the Government;
  • an official event;
  • an open day at the Bureau Ivoirien du Droit d’auteur (BURIDA - the Ivorian Copyright Office) featuring “Days for the promotion of works protected by BURIDA.”

Cuba

The Cuban Industrial Property Office celebrated the Day in the following ways:

  • interaction with the specialized Cuban press on March 20, to make known the activities organized to celebrate the Day;
  • despatch by e-mail of the message of the Director General of WIPO and of the book-mark to all the representatives of the Office in the provinces, with a request to publish them and to summarize the related events on all the local and territorial media, and also the publication of that message on the website of the Office;
  • display of a poster at the Office headquarters, together with the posters and slogans of every year of the celebration (2001 to 2006), as well as of the message of the Director General of WIPO for this year;
  • publication or broadcasting of news about the Day by media of national standing, such as Radio Reloj, Radio Enciclopedia, the program " Buenas Días" on Cuban television, and the magazine Juventud Técnica (digital edition);
  • an international Seminar/Workshop in Havana from April 24 to 27, on the theme, " La Propiedad Intelectual como herramienta de gestión de los sistemas nacionales de ciencia, tecnologia e innovación", organized in the framework of the "Andrés Bello" Agreement, with the participation of representatives of WIPO, of member States of the Agreement, as well as of officials of the Cuban Industrial Property Office and of other national institutions.

Czech Republic

The Industrial Property Office is planning to celebrate the Day as follows:

  • a seminar with a public debate on the future of the patent system in Europe, covering subjects such as current issues of the Czech patent system, the Community patent and the judicial system for European patents and Community patents;
  • a seminar on the enforcement of intellectual property rights, in collaboration with the Association of Arbitrators and Mediators in the field of Intellectual Property;
  • the dissemination of information on the Day and on the activities related to it on its websites;
  • an exhibition of important Czech inventions in the entrance hall of the Industrial Property Office;
  • a press conference to promote the Day.

Denmark

To celebrate the Day, the major collecting societies, Copy-Dan, KODA and Gramex, organized a conference on copyright.

The conference lasted half a day, and covered the economics of copyright and the value of copyright to society. Participants were artists and other rightholders, politicians and academics. The Minister of Culture delivered a speech emphasizing the importance of continued protection to creative works. The documentation of the conference included a report by a team of academics from the Copenhagen Business School about the Danish copyright economy.

Dominican Republic

The activities planned to celebrate the Day are:

  • a Conference on the theme of Intellectual Property and Copyright, with professionals in the copyright field, in collaboration with the Sociedad Dominicana de Asistencia Jurídica (March 25, 2006 at 9 a.m.);
  • a talk on the theme of Copyright and Intellectual Property in the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with the Secretariat for Higher Education and Technology (April 1, 2006 at 4 p.m.);
  • a talk on the theme of the Impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Piracy and Copyright in the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with the Unesco office in the Dominican Republic (April 21, 2006 at 7 p.m).

Estonia

The Estonian Patent Office will celebrate the Day on April 26 by holding, at the Conference Center of the Tallink Hotel in Tallinn, a seminar on the theme, “Legal Protection of Small-sized Enterprises’ Products.”

The participants are expected to be owners of small-sized enterprises, inventors, aspiring entrepreneurs, students and any others who are interested. Experts in the technological and intellectual property fields--including speakers sent by WIPO--will speak on aspects of all the major branches of industrial property as well as on copyright and related rights: they will cover subjects such as the nature of the industrial property titles sought, the useful data and information available, classification, and practicalities including patent application and trademark registration procedures, the related costs and the possibilities of financial assistance and other support. Attendance will be free of charge.

Ethiopia

The Day will be celebrated on April 26 by the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) in the following ways:

  • a seminar to raise awareness of intellectual property rights, on the theme, “The Role of Intellectual Property in Socio-Economic Development: the Experience of Ethiopia”, to be organized by EIPO in cooperation with the House of Peoples’ Representatives, in which some 170 members of Parliament are expected to participate;
  • the distribution of information on intellectual property in general, and of brochures explaining EIPO’s activities, as well as of WIPO publications to the participants;
  • a reading of the message of the Director General of WIPO to the participants;
  • the display of charts, graphs and statistics related to patents, utility models, industrial designs and trademarks;
  • demonstration of technological information contained in patent documents available on CD-roms and DVDs;
  • coverage of the event by all types of mass media.

France - Bouygues Telecom

On the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day, on April 26, the sector Brevets et Valorisation of Bouygues Telecom, for the third consecutive year, will be holding for its staff events to promote awareness of intellectual property.

For this purpose, on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 April, there will be stands at the different premises of Bouygues Telecom in Paris, where intellectual property in general and more particularly intellectual property connected with Bouygues Telecom will be presented, by means of posters, models of inventions, observations of inventors of Bouygues Telecom and a competitive game.

Germany - German Federation of Industries (BDI)

The BDI will celebrate the Day by organizing a public event in Berlin on the theme, "Intellectual Property Day - Idea - Innovation - Growth," in order to enhance public awareness of the importance of intellectual property. Speakers at the event will include the Minister of Justice, the President of the European Patent Office, and a panel of representatives of industry, science and the of the German Government. They will debate recent intellectual property issues such as copyrights, patents and piracy.

There will also be exhibits by several firms showing the benefits of effective protection of intellectual property, as well as their specific contributions in this field.

Germany - University of Technology, Dresden

The Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Media Law, of the University of Technology in Dresden, has organized the following program to celebrate the Day:

  • a colloquium on intellectual property rights on April 26 at 3 p.m.;
  • an exhibition explaining the basics of intellectual property law opening at 2 p.m.

Further information can be obtained at: www.igewem.tu-dresden.de

Greece

The Industrial Property Organization and the Copyright Organization jointly held a one-day exhibition at the most central metro station in Athens, at Syntagma Square, with the aim of improving public awareness of intellectual property. It was inaugurated by the Minister of Development. The exhibition was supported by a press conference and a press release, to ensure the widest possible coverage in all the media.

Guinea

The following activities were organized to celebrate the Day:

  • a speech by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises on April 25;
  • a conference to promote awareness of industrial property at the Université Général Lansana Conte on April 26;
  • an interview about intellectual property on national radio and television, also published in the public and private press.

Hungary

The Hungarian Patent Office will celebrate the Day by focusing on the encouragement of creativity in the field of design.

The major event will begin on April 26 in a central exhibition hall of Budapest at 6 p.m.with a program including:

  • the presentation of works of art and of a film, all by László Moholy-Nagy, which will commemorate the 60th anniversary of his death;
  • the award of the Millennium Prize of the Hungarian Patent Office to representatives of institutions and organizations with outstanding achievements in intellectual property;
  • a presentation on the Hungarian Design Center, which will be opened in May 2006.

The Patent Office will also publicize the message for the Day of the Director General of WIPO in Hungarian, both at the event, and by other means of communication.

Iceland

To celebrate the Day, the Icelandic Patent Office organized the following activities:

  • a series of four informative lectures at the Office’s headquarters on April 26, attended by 30 guests, who received barbecue lighters carrying a commemorative inscription;
  • a radio interview about intellectual property rights, given by the Director General of the Office, which was broadcast at prime time on April 26;
  • the publication of two brochures on intellectual property;
  • the publication, in the country’s leading newspaper, of articles on trademarks and on a relevant database on April 26, and of an article on design protection in May.

India - National Intellectual Property Organization

The National Intellectual Property Organization (NIPO) is organizing a Seminar on the theme “ Data Protection Laws,” to be held at the Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, in New Delhi on April 26.

This theme has been chosen to reflect NIPO’s concerns on the special nature of database protection: although databases are covered by the Indian Copyright Act, NIPO emphasizes that the enormous demand for them and the extremely high cost of their creation, require that a more specific approach be applied to them. For one thing, the recording of databases by filing conventionally in a hard copy form is inefficient and time-consuming, in comparison with the compilation of digital databases wholly by computer. NIPO expresses its commitment to legal reform in this field.

The topics in the Seminar will include growing concern over databases and personal privacy, issues regarding data exclusivity which have been raised by pharmaceutical companies relating to unfair commercial use of the data on new drugs produced by them, as well as protection of confidential test data submitted by innovative pharmaceutical companies for market approval.

Ireland

Ireland is to mark World Intellectual Property Day with the following activities:

  • a general note on the impact of intellectual property in the world, and the message from WIPO’s Director General, Dr. Kamil Idris, have been placed on the website of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. There is also a link on the home page of the website of the Irish Patents Office to the introduction page on the WIPO website concerning the Day;
  • letters issuing from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Patents Office will be franked with the following text throughout April:
    “World Intellectual Property Day 2006 - www.patentsoffice.ie”
  • the Head of the Intellectual Property Unit will give a presentation to an audience invited by the firm of solicitors William Fry to commemorate the Day. His presentation, and any relevant presentations by the firm, will also be placed on the website.

In addition, the Prime Minister has issued a press release welcoming the celebration of the Day. It can be seen on the website of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: www.entemp.ie

Italy

The Italian Trademark and Patent Office (UIBM) had a translation of the message of the Director General of WIPO published on its website. It also organized an exhibition of the works which resulted from a competition for inventions held last year, at the end of a project to encourage awareness of the importance of intellectual property in the creative process in students of primary and secondary schools. The exhibition is at the UIBM premises, and lasts from April 26 to May 26.

Kenya - Uranga Entity Institute (UEI)

The UEI, an independent public policy research project based in Nairobi, celebrated the Day with the following activities:

  • a special newsletter, distributed to public libraries, Government ministries and colleges;
  • an essay competition for secondary school students, on the theme of the Day;
  • a comprehensive review of the Counterfeit Goods Act of 2005, with the aim of promoting amendments, to be presented to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Kyrgyzstan

The State Agency of Intellectual Property has planned the following activities to celebrate the Day, in collaboration with Government departments, intellectual property organisms, libraries, educational institutions, publishers, private enterprise, the media and others:

  • round table on problems of piracy in the Kyrgyz Republic, April 25, 2006;
  • seminar on problems of traditional knowledge protection and other intellectual property topics, for members of Parliament, April 14;
  • seminar on copyright and related rights protection and royalty collection, with the participation of members of Parliament, April 12;
  • a conference on the structure of royalty collection in relation to the selection of subject matter, March-April;
  • a scientific conference on practical matters, dedicated to both the National and the World Intellectual Property Day, April 26, and in this framework, an exhibition about the Day, April 24-27, as well as information stands about the Day in Kyrgyzpatent regional offices through April;
  • the action “Stop Piracy!”, involving the destruction of counterfeit audio-visual works, with the participation of persons employed in legal enforcement, culture and the arts, April 25;
  • short courses for enforcement officials (until April 17) and for secondary school teachers (March 22-29);
  • competition for the best poster on Intellectual Property Day, until April 20;
  • publication of collections of abstracts of inventions in several fields registered in the Kyrgyz Republic (March-April), and issue of a Kyrgyzpatent compact disc containing information on its structure and collections of abstracts, as well as illustrative materials (until April 15);
  • organization of the granting of diplomas and other awards by Kyrgyzpatent to students, authors and inventors (until April 17);
  • issue of the Official Bulletin, “Intellectualdyk Menchik” (until April 13), and publication of the general information brochure on Kyrgyzpatent in three languages (until April 17), as well as other publications about intellectual property protection in the country;
  • chess tournament and tennis tournament (April);
  • coverage by the press and the mass media in general of the World and National Intellectual Property Day (March and April), and posting of such information on the Kyrgyzpatent website (March and April).

Latvia

The Patent and Technology Library of the Patent Office will be organizing an Open Day on April 26, including presentations on the Library’s collections and services, free services to users and the opening of an exhibition on the theme, “Internationally Registered Latvian Trademarks in 2005.” The program will also include a presentation of the databases on industrial and intellectual property protection in Latvia, on the history of Latvian industry, and a seminar on the theme, “ Industrial Property: Subjects, Protection and Information,” with speakers from the Patent Office and the Library. All participants will receive copies of the Latvian translations of the WIPO comic books on patents, trademarks and copyright. The Patent Office will also enable visitors to have discussions with its staff.

On April 27, a meeting will take place at the Patent and Technology Library for patent information specialists and patent attorneys, who will be able to discuss their experiences as well as topical industrial property issues.

On April 28, at the Latvian Academy of Sciences, there will be a ceremony in which the WIPO medal will be presented to the inventor Dr. Gunars Duburs, and awards and diplomas will be presented to eight other inventors for their outstanding achievements during the period 2003-2005.

Information on the Day will be sent to the National News Agency LETA, to the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Justice and to the Library Division of the Ministry of Culture. It will also appear on the websites of the Patent Office and the Patent and Technology Library.

Lebanon

The National Committee for Intellectual Property Rights organized a cultural festival at the American University of Beirut on April 29, its first celebration of the Day with this kind of event. It was the occasion to announce initiatives and projects to contain the migration of Lebanese youth and brain power, as well as to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property rights, and to honour creators for their contribution to the development of societies. Musicians of the region performed at the event.

Speakers included staff of the University, and representatives of the Business Software Alliance, of the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade (which sponsored the event), of the International Chamber of Commerce, of the Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and of the Lebanese Intellectual Property Association.

Lesotho

The Office of the Registrar General will celebrate the Day by holding public lectures, to be given by staff of the Office on intellectual property and enforcement. Those invited are students of technical and vocational schools, musicians, authors and other stakeholders within Government and in the private sector.

The activity is planned around this year’s theme, “It Starts with an Idea,” and appeals particularly to the youth of the country to be creative for the benefit of society as a whole and to recognize the importance of IPRs and the benefits they confer.

Libya

The National Bureau for Research and Development launched a cultural festival in January 2006, with the aim of increasing awareness of intellectual property. The festival featured cultural presentations and conferences, with the participation of experts, practitioners and others interested in intellectual property issues. The festival ended on April 30 with a closing ceremony which included the showing of a 15-minute video on intellectual property.

Lithuania

The Day will be celebrated as follows:

  • April 26 - with the participation of the Ministry of Culture, the State Patent Bureau, the Agency of Lithuanian Copyright Protection Association (LATGA-A) and the Lithuanian Neighboring Rights Association (AGATA), the Day will be celebrated at the Vilnius Congress Palace. Two WIPO Creativity Awards for 2006 will be presented to two women creators, and another award will be presented to an inventor and scientist;
  • April 25 - on the joint initiative of the Ministry of Culture, LATGA-A, AGATA and the Mickevičius Public Library in Vilnius, a seminar will be held at that Library on the theme, “ Protection of Copyright and Related Rights, Theory and Practice;
  • the website of the Ministry of Culture will be updated to incorporate the World Intellectual Property Day message to highlight the importance of creativity and innovation in building a better world.

Madagascar

World Intellectual Property Day was celebrated by the Office Malgache de la Propriété Industrielle (OMAPI) as follows:

  • publication of the message of the Director General of WIPO in several newspapers of the capital;
  • a radio broadcast during which the message of the Director General of WIPO was commented upon in the national language;
  • an Open Day held by OMAPI, well attended by the public;
  • presentation by OMAPI, on April 27, of this year’s theme to the staff of the Senate, numbering 300, who came to gain knowledge about intellectual property.

Malta

To commemorate World Intellectual Property Day the Malta Industrial Property Office, which forms part of the Commerce Division, planned the following activities:

  • issue of a press release where the Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, under whose responsibility intellectual property falls, will be launching an 'Information Campaign' with regard to intellectual property, which is to run through 2006, with the aim of informing the general public on the subject;
  • a drawing competition organized by the Commerce Division for schoolchildren between the ages of 8 years and 12 years, on the theme "Ideas Shape our World";
  • a series of workshops on intellectual property, three of which have already been held, one in January, the second in February and the third in April, in which people from different commercial and educational sectors and organisations participated to full capacity and with positive feedback.

Mexico - Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada

To celebrate the Day, the Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, in collaboration with the Cámara Nacional de la Industria Electrónica de Telecomunicaciones e Informática, will be organizing the three magisterial conferences indicated below, addressing the importance of intellectual property in our lives, in an effort to implant the culture of intellectual property in our universities, our society, and Government.

The themes and main speakers of the conferences will be:

  • Consideraciones para el licenciamiento de tecnologías en el ámbito global
    Speaker: Dr. José Luis Solleiro Rebolledo, Investigador Titular
    Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, CCADET-UNAM    .
  • Valor y uso de las marcas y signos distintivos, estrategia de crecimiento para la región de Baja California
    Speaker: Lic. J. Leopoldo Hurtado, Comisión de Propiedad Intelectual-Cámara Nacional de la Industria Electrónica de Telecomunicaciones e Informática-CANIETI-Noroeste
    CERVERA GONZALEZ HURTADO & TERRANOVA
  • " Impacto y Beneficios del Programa Estatal de la Propiedad Intelectual de Baja California, SEDECO-CICESE"
    Speaker: M.C. Carlos Gerardo López Hernández, Jefe del Depto de Proyectos Especiales y Propiedad Intelectual
    Dirección de Innovación y Desarrollo - CICESE

The poster and the program can be seen on the site: http://innovacion.cicese.mx/PI/

Mexico - Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI)

To celebrate the Day, the Institute organized a seminar in Mexico City on April 26 and 27 on the theme, “Mexican Enterprises, Leaders in the Mexican Market, and their Relationship with Industrial Property.” Some 200 persons attended. There were twelve experts in the field who gave presentations on various aspects of the subject, including innovation, patent information, trademarks, the activities and importance of enterprises, communication and anti-piracy measures.

A press conference was held, in which the Director General of IMPI and the Director of the Business Software Alliance in Mexico delivered a message on the commemoration of the Day.

Mongolia

The Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia (IPOM) has organized the following activities to celebrate the Day:

  • the broadcast of a message of the Deputy Prime Minister on national television on April 26;
  • a press conference about the Day;
  • the presentation of IPOM awards to inventors and innovators;
  • an Open Day at IPOM on April 26;
  • the promotion of activities for the Day on the mass media;
  • a competition amongst teams from Mongolian universities on the theme, "IP starts with an idea."
  • a series of intellectual property training programs for students, lawyers, patent agents and businesses in the month of April;
  • a competition for IPOM staff members on the theme, "intellectual property and sports."

Pakistan - Messrs Media Mark

The Day will be celebrated at Islamabad by Messrs Media Mark, an advertising company which is to hold a Mega Event in the form of a national conference. The company expects to receive financial assistance from its sponsors, Unilever Pakistan, Pakistan Tobacco, ICI Pakistan and Shell Pakistan, as well as the support of the Intellectual Property Organization (IPO) of Pakistan. The Prime Minister is expected to be the Event's chief guest, and to perform the opening ceremony.

Pakistan - Pakistan Industrial and Intellectual Property Rights Association (PIPRA)

The Pakistan Industrial and Intellectual Property Rights Association (PIPRA), celebrated the Day in Karachi on April 29.

Peru

To celebrate the Day, the Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual (INDECOPI) has coordinated activities for the entire week beginning April 24, in both the capital and in the provinces, which include:

  • interviews on the media of the President of INDECOPI;
  • an international congress on the theme, “Copyright and the New Challenges of a Changing World”;
  • a ceremony for the recognition of intellectual creativity, with the participation of the Minister of Education;
  • press conferences on intellectual property, as well information and training workshops;
  • a symposium on the theme, “Balance and Perspectives of the Peruvian Copyright Law, 1996-2006”;
  • public destruction of pirated products, in one case with the participation of the Minister of Productivity;
  • educational and informational presentations in cinemas, theatres and concert venues, highlighting the need to respect intellectual property.

Philippines

The Day will be celebrated from April 22-29 on the theme, “Filipino Creativity and Ingenuity: Our Gift to the World,” by activities including the following:

  • a radio program on intellectual property (April 22);
  • a flag-raising ceremony, an exhibition of WIPO awards and the inauguration of a lecture series on intellectual property with the participation of leading executives and academics (April 24);
  • publication of a supplement in the press on intellectual property, re-launch of the National Essay Writing Contest on intellectual property, launch of a training program on intellectual property rights protection and the signing of memoranda of agreement with partners in intellectual property (April 26);
  • a forum on intellectual property for journalists (April 29).

Republic of Korea

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans the following activities to celebrate the Day:

  • a ceremony, featuring awards to persons who have made significant contributions in the field of copyright and related rights, a concert, featuring celebrity performers, and a film presentation (April 22, 2006);
  • an exhibition to introduce to the public useful systems such as the copyright registration system and Content Objective Identification (COI), as well as to show exhibits of various culture industries, such as films, games, animation characters and music (April 21-23, 2006);
  • an academic seminar on the promotion of the copyright licensing industry (April 26, 2006);
  • an anti-piracy campaign (April 21-23, 2006);
  • an essay-writing competition, for students from the fourth to ninth grades, in which contestants are to write their entries after reading the comic book, “Copy and Paste: What’s Wrong?”< /li>

Republic of Moldova

The Day was and will be celebrated by the Republic of Moldova as follows:

  • thematic exhibitions in public and university libraries throughout the country;
  • the organization by the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) of the scientific-practical Symposium “AGEPI Readings”, on April 18 and 19, 2006;
  • participation by AGEPI in the scientific symposium “Libraries passing from the information society to the knowledge society”, organized on March 16 by the National Library of the Republic of Moldova within the “Bibliologic Year 2006”, during which awards were given to winners of the competition “The Public Library - a partner in intellectual property promotion”;
  • the organization of specialized seminars on intellectual property issues for students of the Academy of Arts, Theatre and Music of Moldova (March 20), the College of Informatics of Chisinau (March 27), the Agrarian University of Moldova (March 29) the Polytechnic of Chisinau (April 4) and the State University of Pedagogy (April 10), as well as for heads of laboratories or divisions of the scientific institutions of the Academy of Science (March-April);
  • the organization of a seminar on the theme, “Trademarks and Brand Names in an Enterprise’s Development Strategy”(April 14) in Balti city;
  • participation in exhibitions both national and international (Russian Federation, Switzerland and the Ukraine) on intellectual property themes;
  • the offer by AGEPI of financial support to national inventors for participation in the International Exhibition of Inventions, New Technologies and Products in Geneva this year;
  • the provision of consulting and marketing services and promotional intellectual property materials, including the message of the Director General of WIPO, posters and other publications prepared for Intellectual Property Day, and their distribution by the AGEPI staff at the exhibitions, organized in March-April, at the International Exhibition Center “Moldexpo” on the themes “Moldconstruct”, “Moldenergy”, “City-2006”, and “Cominfo-2006;
  • the holding of a press conference on World Intellectual Property Day on April 18 on the AGEPI premises, for the mass media and representatives of the audiovisual industries, during which a competition for journalists on intellectual property issues will be launched;
  • the broadcast of a television talk show on April 18, with the participation of AGEPI and the Moldovan Academy of Science, on the national television channel;
  • the translation into Romanian and diffusion of the message from the World Intellectual Property Organization by Director General Kamil Idris and of other WIPO information, in AGEPI periodicals and in local newspapers;
  • an official ceremony dedicated to World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, at the AGEPI Conference Hall, during which the awards announced at the 34th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Technologies and Products in Geneva will be given, and also awards won in the national competition “Invention of the Year 2005”, as well as diplomas and other awards to those most active in the industrial property field in that year, to be followed by a reception;
  • the announcement of the ongoing and forthcoming events dedicated to the World Intellectual Property Day on the AGEPI website: www.agepi.md;
  • the broadcast of a press communiqué entitled “World Intellectual Property Day - at its sixth celebration”.

Romania - The Copyright Office (ORDA)

The Day was celebrated by ORDA as follows:

  • a poster exhibition on the theme of the Day at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs;
  • a symposium on the theme, “2006 - a Year of Centenaries in the Intellectual Property Field,” with the participation of high-level officials active in the field (including from the Ministry of Justice, the Customs National Authority, and the Police), in which the best video clip about the Day for 2006 was awarded a prize and broadcast on national and other television channels.

Romania - The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM)

The Day was celebrated by OSIM as follows:

  • a press conference given by OSIM, to be transmitted by all the media, on its latest achievements and projects;
  • publication of the message of the Director General of WIPO on the website of all important Romanian institutions involved in intellectual property;
  • the release of four books in its lecture hall - “Intellectual Property: A Power Tool for Economic Growth” by Kamil Idris, “The Implications of the Community Trademarks Extension as a Result of Romania’s Accession to the EU,” “Protection of Inventions by Utility Models,” and “Industrial Designs Protection” - with introductory speeches by the Directors General of OSIM and ORDA, and by a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a representative of WIPO;
  • the award of medals to employees of OSIM with over 25 years of service in it;
  • special anniversary seminars and symposia in regional centers, with the broadcast on local television channels of programs on the strategy of intellectual property protection in Romanian firms, and on the strong impact on firms of Romania’s forthcoming accession to the EU.

Russian Federation - The Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO)

To celebrate World Intellectual Property Day, the following activities will be organized by the Office of the EAPO, based in Moscow:

  • a meeting with Eurasian patent attorneys at the EAPO headquarters at the end of April;
  • dissemination of EAPO’s new version of the booklet on how to obtain a Eurasian patent and of a short video film on the activities of the Eurasian Patent Office;
  • the posting on the EAPO’s website of information on the Day’s theme, “It starts with an idea”;
  • participation in the IXth Moscow International Salon of Industrial Property, March 28-31, 2006.

Russian Federation - ROSPATENT

To celebrate World Intellectual Property Day, the following activities have been organized by the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (ROSPATENT):

  • eleven regional seminars on the protection of intellectual property, intended to be both theoretical and practical conferences and round tables which will highlight the role of intellectual property as a power tool for economic development and wealth creation;
  • a meeting on April 26 to improve public awareness and understanding of the role of intellectual property in modern society;
  • publication of the messages of the Director General of WIPO and of the Director General of ROSPATENT in the magazines "Intellectual Property" and "Patents and Licenses," as well as their posting on the ROSPATENT website.

Samoa

The Registry of Intellectual Property, under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, plans to celebrate the Day by holding a training and awareness program on copyright, its importance, and how works benefit their creators. The program is also envisaged to include users of copyrighted works, so that they will understand the position of creators and their need for compensation. The Registry intends this to strengthen its efforts in enforcing copyright protection.

Seychelles

To celebrate the Day, the Registrar General published a message in the national newspaper, and the Seychelles Authors’ and Composers’ Society organized a musical concert at the International Conference Centre, featuring a number of well-known local performers.

Slovak Republic

The Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic will celebrate the Day with the following activities:

  • an exhibition on the theme, “Slovak personalities in science and engineering” in the Slovak Technical Museum;
  • an exhibition of children’s drawings on the theme, “Children’s View of Inventions”;
  • an Open Day to enlighten visitors about industrial property and the work of the Office;
  • the 6th Annual Conference on Industrial Property, with a subsequent publication of the proceedings;
  • a press conference.

Spain

To celebrate the Day, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office issued a press release concerning the Day and the importance of intellectual property in daily life, emphasizing the importance of industrial property for the protection of innovations, and in particular the use of the international route of the PCT.

The website of the Office, in addition to this press release, also showed the message of the Director General of WIPO, and the promotional material sent by WIPO in CD format, namely, the poster, calendar and bookmarks.

Spain - Entidad de Gestión de Derechos de los Productores Audiovisuales (Egeda)

On May 9, the 11th José María Forqué Cinematographic Prize will be awarded in the Teatro Real in Madrid. During the presentation ceremony, World Intellectual Property Day will be evoked.

The Day will also be publicized on Egeda’s website, in its newsletter and in its public activities around the date of April 26.

Sri Lanka

The Day was celebrated as follows:

  • a television program in cooperation with the Sri Lanka Inventors’ Commission;
  • publication of a newspaper article and a series of five newspaper advertisements on intellectual property;
  • a seminar organized by the Sri Lanka Performing Rights Society.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The Commerce and Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) celebrated the Day with the following activities:

  • the broadcast of a special report on trademarks on the radio station of the National Broadcasting Corporation about a week before the Day;
  • the donation of literature on intellectual property to nine secondary school libraries on April 25 and 27;
  • an open day and exhibition, hosted by CIPO, in which exhibition were displayed visual and literary works and crafts, all by local people;
  • the broadcast of a message by the Acting Registrar on the local television station.

Sweden

The Swedish Patent Office will promote the Day with lectures at five Swedish universities, particularly designed for PhD and other graduate students. This is a first step for a longer-term project to promote greater awareness and use of intellectual property rights.

More information in Swedish can be obtained from the website of the Swedish Patent Office.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Ministry of Culture

Activities planned by the Ministry to celebrate the Day were as follows:

  • introduction of an Internet website for copyright and related rights;
  • participation in broadcasts on subjects concerning copyright and related rights;
  • the broadcast of an audiovisual work, “Her/his Highness-The Author,” by the author Olgica Trajkovska, concerning the law on audiovisual works.

Trinidad and Tobago

The Day will be celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago with the following activities:

  • a workshop on industrial designs for artisans, artists and Masmen (costumed performers in the Carnival season);
  • radio and television broadcasts on intellectual property issues, and broadcasts for the public of the WIPO film, “Creative Planet,” in the Intellectual Propery Office (IPO) building;
  • an essay competition for the staff of the IPO on the theme, “Intellectual Property - It Starts with an Idea.”
  • displays of posters and books in public libraries throughout the country;
  • updates of the IPO website, with information on the Day, including messages from the Minister of Legal Affairs and the Director General of WIPO;
  • publication in the press of the statements of the Minister of Legal Affairs and of the Director general of WIPO, and insertion of copyright brochures in daily newspapers;
  • visits to schools to inform students about intellectual property, and a program of activities at the National Library for 4th to 6th form students.

Tunisia

The Institut National de la Normalisation et de la Propriété Industrielle (INNORPI) is organizing the following activities to celebrate the Day:

  • an itinerant seminar from April 24 to 27 in Tunis, Sousse and Gafsa, in collaboration with WIPO and the National Office of Handicrafts (Office National de l’Artisanat), on the theme of the protection of creations in the handicrafts sector;
  • the publication of the press release of the Director General of WIPO, in Arabic and French, in the Tunisian newspapers.

Turkey

The Turkish Patent Institute celebrated the Day by organizing a widely publicized one-day symposium in its Conference Hall on April 26, on the theme, “Industrial Property; Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.”

The Minister of Industry and Trade participated. The symposium held three sessions, in which the significance of intellectual property rights on a national and international level were discussed, as well as legal perspectives in view. It was open to both stakeholders and the general public.

Ukraine

The State Department of Intellectual Property, under the Ministry of Education and Science, is organizing a second national exhibition, on the theme, “Inventions and Innovations 2006.”

Several activities will take place in the framework of this exhibition. These include a scientific and practical Conference on the theme of “Legal Implementation and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights - Power Tool for Successful Enterprise Development,” and a presentation on patented inventions. It is expected that the winners of all Ukrainian competitions for inventions will receive their awards during this exhibition.

United Kingdom - Enterprise "Own It" and Briffa Law Firm

To mark the Day, Own It have teamed up with Briffa Law Firm to get a global view on the ins and outs of trading internationally and how to protect and exploit your work across a huge geographical and business landscape.

Aspects of intellectual property that will be discussed at this event include export, manufacturing and licensing, protecting your work, getting the best deal and what to do if your work is copied and is being manufactured and sold abroad.

This event will have a special emphasis on manufacturing in China and the new markets and opportunities opening up in the Far East. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

For booking: http://www.own-it.org/members/book_event.asp?eventId=153

More information here: http://www.own-it.org/events/details/?eventId=153&p=1

Location map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=528750&y=181250&z

Time and Location: April 26, 6.00 to 8.00 p.m. West Space, Rootstein Hopkins Space, London College of Fashion, John Princes Street, London W.1

United States of America - George Washington University Law School

The Creative and Innovative Economy Center (CIEC) of the George Washington University Law School, together with WIPO, have invited the United States Congress, the Washington Diplomatic Corps and intellectual property personalities in Washington D.C. to a celebration of creativity and to the screening of a Nigerian television film, “Wetin Dey?” which means “What’s Happening?”

The event will call attention to the rise of the Nigerian film industry, and to the problems of piracy which endanger creative potential and economic viability.

Members of Congress who will host the screening and discussion include Robert Wexler, Tom Feeney, Mary Bono, Adam Smith, Chairpersons of the Congressional Caucus on Intellectual Property Promotion and Piracy Prevention, and Diane Watson, Chairperson of the Entertainment Industries Caucus.

Particulars about participation can be obtained from Sarah Huisentruit, Education Director for CIEC at shuisentruit@law.gwu.edu by April 24.

Uzbekistan

To celebrate the Day, the State Patent Office organized the following activities at its premises:

  • a seminar on the theme, “The Role of Intellectual Property in the Economic Advancement of the Republic of Uzbekistan”;
  • a competition for inventive children;
  • a competition on the theme, “the intellect is good, but intellect with law is better.

Uzbekistan - Copyright Agency

To celebrate the Day, the Copyright Agency organized a month on the theme “The Role of Intellectual Property,” with the following activities:

  • a regional workshop with the participation of authors, consumers and performers, in various districts;
  • the participation of its lawyers in presentations on the mass media, in which they answered questions on problems in copyright and related rights;
  • a special press conference on April 26, with the cooperation of the company MICROSOFT;
  • features on its website on the Day;
  • the award of prizes.

Vietnam

The program for the celebration of the Day in Vietnam is as follows:

  • On April 12, the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technological Creation (VIFOTEC), in collaboration with the Center for Promotion of Inventions and Innovations (CEPIN) and the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) will organise the Award Ceremony for Science and Technology Creations including WIPO awards for 2005 in Hanoi.
  • The message from the Director General of WIPO has been translated into Vietnamese, and is being widely disseminated by the mass media.
  • The NOIP is cooperating with the mass media (newspapers, TV) and Departments of Science and Technology throughout the country for the wide dissemination of information about the Day.
  • On April 25, there will be a television program on the theme "Intellect and aspiration", a talk show with the winners of WIPO awards from 2001 to 2005. Participating in this live talk-show, there will be a Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, the most senior officials of NOIP and the Director General of VIFOTEC. The Message of the Director General of WIPO on World IP Day 2006 will be broadcast at this event.
  • On April 26, NOIP will organize a meeting at its headquarters to celebrate the Day.

Zambia

The Registrar of Copyright, working within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, organized the following activities to celebrate the Day:

  • a keynote address by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services on national television to launch the Day (April 25);
  • a march past by a group of national stakeholders, led by the Minister, from the Kafue round-about to the Freedom Statue for the distance of a kilometer, during which speeches and plays were heard and seen on subjects including the importance of intellectual property for national development (April 26);
  • an Anti-Piracy Sensitization Workshop for the Media in Zambia, to be held by the Ministry to raise awareness among journalists working in governmental and private media organizations (May 6).