Global Courant 2023-04-30 03:24:00
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr 27, 2023
World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) is observed every year on April 26 to bring awareness to the importance of intellectual property (IP) and its relevance to businesses, inventors, and artists worldwide.
Intellectual property refers to ownership of inventions such as literary and artistic works, music, designs, images, etc., that fall under four different categories: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
This year, in celebration of WIPD 2023, Belize hosted a series of events under the theme: “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity.”
While it is no secret that women contribute greatly to creativity and cultural expression in society, what is often downplayed are the challenges they face to perfect and own their artistic creations.
Therefore, the goal of the Belize Intellectual Property Office (BELIPO) is to build an IP ecosystem that allows these women to be more informed about the IP system while it promotes and accelerates continuous creativity and business growth.
In other words, it allows these women entrepreneurs to be protected and officially own their inventions without the worry of their property rights being taken away.
The events began on April 25, which was called Application Assistance/Consultation Day. On this date, female inventors were offered free consultations and discounts by BELIPO on all applications and copyright deposits.
A Women’s Expo was also held the following day at the Belmopan Civic Center, where each of these female entrepreneurs displayed and sold their creations, and explained how their registered IP has positively impacted their businesses.
BELIPO, along with the Belizean Society of Composers, Authors, Publishers (BSCAP), a nonprofit/non-governmental organization, wishes to continue raising awareness for “the objective of ensuring compliance and remuneration for creators,” according to the BSCAP post on their Facebook page.
