Development oriented IP system needed -Minister Bathiudeen

Sri Lanka needs to make our Intellectual Property (IP) system truly development oriented and to reach all the strata of society with the message of innovation, said the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishard Bathiudeen at the Assemblies of Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organisation held in Geneva last week. The Minister stressed that while improving the innovative and creative environment and promoting the protection of the results of the innovative and creative efforts, Sri Lanka wants to effectively manage our existing IP rights such as geographical indications including Ceylon Tea and Ceylon Cinnamon. Similarly, our expectation to make sure that the rights to our national assets such as traditional knowledge and genetic resources are duly respected, nationally and internationally, remains unabated, he said.

In our accelerated nation building process including the economic growth and the promotion of Sri Lanka as a knowledge hub in Asia we want, among other things, to have a better organised and strengthened national innovative and creative eco-system. Consequently, our strategic policy formulation has commenced giving priority to creativity and innovation and related areas.

For example, the Govt. of Sri Lanka recently adopted a National Science and Technology Policy and promulgated a 5 year strategy on science, technology and innovation. Similarly, an ICT policy has been made to promote ICT awareness, use and industry. Similar efforts are being made in some other relevant areas as well. We are interested in integrating the elements of IP in such mainstream development oriented activities and giving practical effect to so integrated elements in the realisation of the designed goals.

The cooperation of WIPO in this exercise is earnestly expected. The WIPO programs such as Development Agenda are therefore important to us, the minister said. It is a matter of importance for all of us in this august assembly to ensure that the intellectual property system remains balanced so as to address the needs of member states considering the level of development. At the same time, the opportunities of our people to have equitable access to, and participate in, the technological advancements should be widened and expanded. Considering the importance of due protection and management of intellectual property as a mechanism for the promotion of creative and innovative activities and for overall economic growth, we in Sri Lanka have carried out and are carrying out various IP related programs on our own or with the kind cooperation of various agencies such as WIPO, USPTO, EU and JPO, he said.