World Intellectual Property Day Observed

World Intellectual Property (IP) Day is commemorated annually on April 26th to raise awareness of the impact of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and designs on society, and to celebrate the contributions of inventors and creators to the development of societies worldwide.

The Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) celebrated the World IP Day 2022 under the theme IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future.  

The theme for the event encourages the youth to think creatively and harness the power of technology to develop innovative tools and applications for commercialisation, and the benefit of society.

In his open remarks, the Director of Research, Professor George Obeng Adjei urged the University community to promote innovation and to place a high premium on the protection and commercialisation of intellectual property, as well as publicize the accomplishments of creators, inventors, and innovators.

         Professor George Obeng Adjei (Director of Research, ORID)

Mrs Diana Owusu Antwi, a Research Development Officer at ORID, outlined the measures in place to support creativity and innovation at the University of Ghana (UG). She also highlighted the provisions in the UG Intellectual Property Policy pertaining to the ownership of student IP, exceptions to the ownership of student IP, UG’s approach to technology commercialisation and the benefits of IP rights.  

       Mrs Diana Owusu Antwi ( Research Development Officer, ORID)

Dr.  Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba of the UG School of Law, touched on the various types of IP and IP rights and how they can be used by businesses.

              Dr.  Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba (UG School of Law)

Dr. Sheena Lovia Boateng, of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School, spoke on the importance of market research to inform the product development process.

           Dr. Sheena Lovia Boateng (Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, UGBS)

Mr. Emmanuel Sackey, an International IP Expert and Consultant, who was the keynote speaker for the occasion, highlighted a plethora of ways in which novelty and creativity can be harnessed among the youth. He challenged faculty and students to be transformative in their thinking by capitalising on IP knowledge acquisition and usage to facilitate income generating ventures.

                  Mr. Emmanuel Sackey (International IP Expert and Consultant)

Participants were entertained with dance performances by Abibigromma Theatre Company, of the School of Performing Arts, UG. Abibigromma also put up a theatre production that sought to portray IP ownership, the benefits of IP protection, IP commercialisation, enforcement, and infringement. The performances also demonstrated the threat of neglecting value of an author or originators rights under contractual instances which may result in legal disputes.

         Theatre production by Abibigromma Theatre Company (School of Performing Arts)

The hallmark celebration provided the platform for students to showcase their innovations and products to the University community. This aspect of the programme enhanced the visibility of some student achievements to participants.

                                              A group photo of participants