Intellectual Property Week 2021

‘Paving the path to growth and development through the protection of Intellectual Property Rights’ CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ECOSYSTEM I T IS with great pleasure that I join with the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) and other similar organisations around the world in celebrating both Intellectual Property Week 2021 andWorld Intellectual Property Day. Intellectual Property may be loosely described as the products of human creativity, innovation or inventiveness. Jamaica has made strides in safeguarding the Intellectual Property of our people, with JIPO playing an integral role in this process. It is important that we continue to strengthen the national Intellectual Property eco-system, especially to facilitate the greater inclusion of MSMEs, given our world-renowned prowess in the creative industries and our emerging talent in using technology to create marketable applications. JIPO is celebrating this year’s IP Week under the theme ‘IP and MSMEs: Taking your ideas to market’. This theme underscores the important work being done by organisations like JIPO in providing small and medium-sized enterprises with the knowledge and power to protect and market their ideas in local and global markets, without fear of theft or other misappropriation. The success of our MSMEs is inextricably linked to ensuring that their products are not vulnerable to undesirable exploitation. We must continue to encourage creative work done by individuals, micro, small, medium and large-scale enterprises by making it as easy as practicable for them to safeguard their Intellectual Property. I congratulate JIPO on this great initiative. I wish you continued success! LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION MR. MARK GOLDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS PROVIDE PROTECTION W ORLD INTELLECTUALProperty Day is celebrated annually to educate the public about the role of Intellectual Property (IP) rights. In Jamaica, this celebration is spearheaded by the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), the national IP office and an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. IP Week 2021 is being observed under the theme ‘IP & MSMEs: Taking your ideas to market’. JIPO, arguably the premier IP office in the region, developed a host of activities in commemoration of this week. Public awareness undertaken throughout the week, including the hosting of events devised by JIPO which will be held during IP Week, to include: World IP Day, Designs Day, Patents Day, an IP Enforcement Webinar, Virtual shopping with selected MSMEs, IP Valuation & IP-based financing for MSMEs. Micro enterprises account for over 80 per cent of Jamaica’s MSMEs, and they are one of the main drivers of our economy. These entities began as an idea or concept that was someone’s independent thought, which was then further developed and launched. These ideas grow to become MSMEs that make an instrumental contribution to Jamaica’s economic growth and development, through the generation of employment and creating and retaining wealth, which leads to economic growth for Jamaica. The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) has developed the MSME Entrepreneurship Policy to“promote an entrepreneurial sector, characterised by innovative and competitive businesses, supported by a conducive institutional and regulatory business environment” to create an enabling business environment. The MSME sector is a priority programme for MIIC, and this sector continues to contribute significantly to GDP, employment and wealth creation, poverty alleviation, female employment and social stability. Intellectual property rights provide MSME innovators protections for their core business research and development activities. Through these rights, entrepreneurs can register their trade mark to build brands and increase the value of the brand. They can register their designs, songs and artwork as copyright works and protect their inventions through patents. The Government has recognised the importance of a modern intellectual property regime as critical to striking a balance between the interests of innovators and the public interest, providing an environment in which creativity and invention can flourish, for the benefit of all. Jamaica is on the verge of bringing into operation the Patents and Designs Act 2020, which will see Jamaica’s accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Hague Agreement concerning the international registration of Industrial Designs. We are also developing new legislation to protect the intellectual property rights of breeders of new plant varieties. Undoubtedly, intellectual property is a lifeline and a driver of innovation for MSMEs. JIPO and MIIC continue to take instrumental steps to provide accession to various protec- tions for our MSMEs with the goal to facilitate and enable an environment that is conducive to their growth. I applaud the team at JIPO on the role they play in establishing mechanisms to protect our international rights, through the modernisation of our laws and accession to the relevant international treaties and agreements. JIPO’s critical mandate of administering our intellectual property system allows us to remain competitive and on par with the globalisation of trade and the advent of new technologies. Your continued work is appreciated and I am confident that with your continued efforts Jamaica, and in particular the MSME sector, will continue to recover stronger. HON. AUDLEY SHAW, CD, MP Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce We must continue to encourage creative work done by individuals, micro, small, medium and large-scale enterprises by making it as easy as practicable for them to safeguard their Intellectual Property. I congratulate JIPO on this great initiative. I wish you continued success! III