World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated annually on April 26, with the aim of increasing general awareness on Intellectual Property. This year, Brunei Darussalam celebrated the World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) on the 26th of October 2023, with an event jointly organised by the Brunei Darussalam Intellectual Property Office (BruIPO) and Datastream Digital Sendirian Berhad (DST) as strategic partner. The event was held at the Songket Hall, Level 4, Rizqun International Hotel, with the theme “Woman and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity".
Attending the event as the guest of honour was Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Ahmad bin Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Di-Raja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa, the Honourable Attorney General, who is also the Registrar of TradeMarks, Patents and Industrial Designs.
The WIPD event featured a forum led by female innovators, entrepreneurs and creatives from different organisations namely, BRUIPO, UTB, Mahakarya Institute and Tyne Solutions. They deliberated on the areas of technology and innovation, as well as how Intellectual Property contributes to the success of various sectors and industries in Brunei. This was followed by a presentation conducted by YB Queenie Chong on “Breaking Barriers: Transforming Ideas into Innovation''.
Subsequently, DST invited guest speakers, including Mr. Nitin Acharekar from Twimbit, who spoke on “Innovate with Artificial Intelligence"; Mr. Akfash Latibu from Microsoft Brunei, who discussed "Leading the Era of AI"; and Mr. Fiqri Ismail from Microsoft, who joined digitally to present “Demystifying Github", which was followed by a virtual presentation on the “Global Innovation Index'' by our distinguished guest speakers, Mr. Sacha Wunsch-Vincent and Ms. Vanessa Behrens from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Around 200 participants from government agencies, higher learning institutions, law firms, and entrepreneurs attended the event.
