World IP Day 2024 Event Held by WIPO Japan Office
May 10, 2024
Every year, events are held all over the world as part of World Intellectual Property Day (April 26th), with a different theme each year. On April 26th, the WIPO Japan Office held World IP Day event, drawing over 300 attendance registration.
The commemorative event was held face-to-face with keynote speeches and dailogue under this year’s theme “IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity” from varoius executive speakers including :
- Commissioner of Japan Patent Office who represents the Japanese government
- The co-chairman of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan
- A famous human rights lawyer
- President of a long-established company from a founding family who focuses on IP
- Head of WIPO GREEN partner company
The SDGs are a blueprint for people, peace, prosperity, and our planet. The challenges we face to reach the goal are multi-faceted and complex. So, we need to use all the tools available to us, especially our ingenuity and intellectual property (IP) to achieve a sustainable future for everyone, everywhere. This year’s theme of the World IP Day included such idea, and it was an opportunity to discuss the relationship between SDGs, IPs, and innovation.
In order to enhance recognition of IP and SDGs as an important topic for everyone, this year’s event featured a varied lineup of keynote speakers including a co-chair of the Osaka-Kansai Expo Event Review Conference in 2025, a president and a COO of WIPO GREEN partner companies, and a representative attorney.
In the keynote speeches, topics like below were focused on.
- Mr. Hiroshi Osaki, the co-chairman of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, spoke on the theme of “festivals,” which is the keyword at Expo 2025 and emphasized about the importance of protection, succession and creation of traditional cultural elements as Intellectual Property.
- Mr. Naoki Dowaki, President of JBEC Co., Ltd. introduced R&D, business development, and the IP strategies that support it, including actual examples, in order to realize its company's mission of realizing a sustainable hydrogen society.
- Ms. Aiko Obuchi, Representative attorney of Amour Law Office, spoke about the current situation and challenges regarding the state of intellectual property in line with the rapidly changing times and the growing awareness of human rights due to the spread of the SDGs. The future of intellectual property responding to quickly changing time.
In the dialogue between Mr. Hiroaki Endo, top executive of KAI CORPORATION and ΚΑΙ INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. and Director of WIPO Japan office, the young executive told the company’s history, IP-centered management strategy, and that the company keeps trying to adjust to SDGs and globalization by fully utilizing IPs.
The event was enthusiastically received, with questions flying during the dialogue Q&A.
Besides, concise posters related to IPs, SDGs, projects organized by WIPO were displayed in the lobby. Also, an avatar robot which can contribute to several SDGs was installed, and the official character of the Expo2025 was attended. These could draw attendees’ attention to this year’s theme of World IP Day. We got positive feedback from attendees such as “The event boosted my interest and understanding in IPs and innovation”, “I felt closer to IPs and SDGs through the speeches from various viewpoints”.