Zimbabwe today joins the World to celebrate the Intellectual Property Day, which is meant to educate proprietors and other stakeholders on the role that intellectual property plays in cultivating a culture of creativity and innovation.
Speaking during the commemorations in Harare, Brenda Matanga, who leads the Intellectual Property, Real Estate and Conveyancing department said that there is a need for women to be educated about intellectual property rights so as to empower them in their work.
“It is important to recognise that in the present day they are more and more everyday women who are innovating be it in fashion, in art, literature, science and technology,” Matanga said.
“It goes without saying that women have been historically disadvantaged, which is why this year’s campaign is focused on women and dismantling the glass ceiling that forms barriers to female innovators and creators.”
The theme of this year’s celebrations of the World Intellectual Property Day is “Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity.
“This year’s campaign is celebrating the courage and brilliance of women in the world who are driving change, molding our future and making history through their innovation and creation,” Matanga added.
“In light of the recent social movement to empower women and encourage gender equality both in the world and country, the theme for this year’s campaign is veering out. We are pressing for progress and indeed we are pressing for progress in innovation and creativity”
The Intellectual Property, Real Estate and Conveyancing department leader also said that artists need to understand intellectual property rights.
“It (intellectual property rights) is the backbone of their existence. It’s time they understood that they should earn a living through their work,” the departmental leader said.
“All innovators all creators should earn a living through their work.”
The World Intellectual Property day is celebrated every year on the 26th of April, the date on which the Convention establishing World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) entered into force in 1970.
According to the international patent applications filed by WIPO, the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and chemistry shows the highest rates of women named as inventors.
WIPO states on its website says that fewer women than men use the intellectual property system.
“That gender gap matters for a number of reasons, perhaps most importantly because gender equality is a human right and because we are all better off when women and girls are empowered to make their full contribution to innovation and creativity,” WIPO says.
