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Celebrating innovation and ideas: World IP Day

  • Artigo
VanessaHutley

This year’s World IP Day theme is Innovation: Respect It, which aims to promote the link between Intellectual Property and innovation.

For Microsoft, Intellectual Property is at the centre of who and what we are. And the link between IP and Innovation is a living reality for us every day as we drive to create great products and services for our customers. Without Intellectual Property Rights many innovations would never reach the marketplace. Without a framework of IPRs the amazing work of many creative minds could languish as the necessary funding to take the idea to the marketplace may not be made available as the product may not be protected against rip offs and counterfeits.

In the words of the Minister for Innovation the Hon Kim Carr , “Whether you are a small business owner or on the board of a multinational company, IP is critical for you and your business.”

That’s why it is important that we have strong IP laws. The enforcement of IP laws and the prevention of IP crime are pivotal in providing a safe and secure environment for investors, inventors, developers, artists and consumers. Start-up companies, must be assured that those found to have participated in IP crimes will face grave consequences.

Counterfeiting and other forms of piracy cost the Australian economy billions. According to an IDC Economic Impact Study 2005, it was estimated that a reduction in piracy from 32 per cent to 22 per cent by 2009 would generate 9,770 jobs and AU$4.7 billion in contributions to gross domestic product. The software piracy figure today remains at an unacceptably high rate of 29 percent.

According to a report recently published by the OECD, international trade in counterfeit and pirated products may have reached up to US$200 billion in 2005 across a number of IP based industries including software, music, movies, automotive, electrical components, food and drink, chemicals, toiletry, pharmaceuticals and tobacco products. This figure would be even higher if we were to include domestically produced and consumed counterfeit and pirated products and pirated digital products over the internet.

In the Australian software industry alone, it is estimated that nearly one in three PCs runs pirated software. Software resellers and consumers become victims of piracy, not only through loss of revenue, but also through an inferior product.

Consistent and effective enforcement of Australia’s intellectual property laws is an important way to reduce Australia’s piracy and counterfeiting levels, and to provide a deterrent for those involved in such crimes.

Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates once lamented that: “Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.” Without strong IP protection both here and abroad inventors and innovators are faced with the terrible prospect that their innovative products will not even last that long before counterfeiters take their valuable IP and exploit the unsuspecting public by selling and distributing inferior rip offs for their own gain. So in celebrating World IP Day, let’s also reinforce the importance of strong, consistent and effective intellectual property laws.

IP Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for administering patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeders' rights is coordinating World IP Day celebrations in Australia. Information about World IP Day celebrations, can be found at www.ipaustralia.gov.au

Vanessa Hutley, Director of Intellectual Property, Microsoft Australia

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