In a concerted effort to bolster market competitiveness and innovation, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) alongside the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation, commemorated World Intellectual Property (IP) Day 2024. The event, themed ‘Intellectual Property and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future With Innovation and Creativity’, underscored the union of intellectual property rights with sustainable development goals, urging entrepreneurs to register their intellectual creations. The celebration drew participation from a spectrum of stakeholders including government officials, development partners, the private sector, as well as a vibrant community of business owners and entrepreneurs.
The 2024 gathering aimed to heighten awareness around the strategic role intellectual property plays in not only enhancing the value of businesses and their offerings but also in fostering competitive advantage in both domestic and international arenas. The MoC highlighted how leveraging intellectual property serves as a leverage for product development, value addition, and technological advancement.
Minister of Commerce, Cham Nimul, during her address, emphasized the indispensable nature of intellectual property within the realms of trade and business. She elaborated on how intellectual property operates as a pivotal mechanism in promoting trade, aiding the growth of new businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises, attracting foreign direct investment, and spurring innovation, commercialization, and research and development efforts.
Nimul firmly posited that the journey towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 would be hampered without a robust framework for intellectual property protection in place. She pointed out the noticeable uptick in engagement with intellectual property rights as evidenced by the increased trademark registrations, which saw a 3.87 percent rise in 2023, with local and international firms registering a total of 8,513 trademarks with the Ministry of Commerce.
The event also featured an inaugural ceremony for several intellectual property-related projects, overseen by both Nimul and Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation. This initiative not only marks a stepping stone towards integrating intellectual property into broader economic and developmental objectives but also aims to propagate a culture of innovation and creativity among the Cambodian entrepreneurial ecosystem. Through fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for intellectual property rights, Cambodia moves a step closer to realizing its potential in driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and enhancing its competitive stance on the global stage.
Source: Khmer Times
