Get up, stand up. For music.

26 April – Today, we observe World Intellectual Property Day. This year’s theme is "Get up, Stand Up. For Music.", a reminder from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that music is something of lasting value to society, to the economy and to our culture.

Emphasizing the power of music, today’s event addresses not only music’s human and cultural worth, but also its economic value, flowing from the intellectual property (IP) rights associated with original works, their performance and dissemination.

“The Internet has created a global marketplace and global stage for music. That is a wonderful thing for music lovers all over the world,” says Francis Gurry, WIPO Director-General, continuing: “We need to ensure that we do not lose sight of creators and performers in the new digital economy.”

What can you do?

“Today is a day to “get up, stand up, for music” – to ensure that our musicians get a fair deal, and that we value their creativity and their unique contribution to our lives,” Mr Gurry asserts.

Doing so, World Intellectual Property Day is a great opportunity to get people interested in issues relating to intellectual property (IP). However, it is up to you to decide how best to use this event, or to meet your organization’s own public awareness raising goals. A list of suggestions for what you might do, can be found here.

Are you interested in intellectual property issues?

WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation. It is a self-funding agency of the United Nations, with 188 member states. Its mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property (IP) system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.

To this end, WIPO – amongst others – provides a policy forum to shape balanced international IP rules for a changing world; cooperates with intellectual property (IP) offices, users and other stakeholders to develop shared IP tools, services, standards, databases and platforms; and functions as a world reference for IP information.

For more information on WIPO’s activities, consult their website or Facebook page.