World Intellectual Property Day has been set aside by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) since 2001 to recognize and celebrate innovators and inventors whose creative inspirations have been transformed into products and services that improve life for all. 

The day is also used to create awareness of the role of Intellectual Property (IP) in our daily lives.  From the discovery of the wheel to the creation of jet-travel, from the development of the printing-press to the advent of the internet, invention is at the heart of all human progress. 

In this message commemorating the Day the WIPO Director General, Kamil Idris acknowledged that without intellectual proper rights, many new technologies developed to tackle global problems would never see the light of day and the great sporting events, which entertain and unite us, would not be broadcast into homes across the globe. 

On World Intellectual Property Day we celebrate not only the enormous power of human creativity, but also the intellectual property rights that help to fuel and channel it, making it such an important driving force for economic, cultural and social development.

Copyright owners and patent holders have suffered counterfeiting and unauthorized copying of their materials and products world-wide, and Ghana is no exception. It is estimated that the global counterfeit business is worth of over US$2bn and it is growing every year.  Innovators and inventors in the entertainment, textile and pharmaceutical industries, to mention but a few, have suffered losses running into millions of Ghana cedis due to the activities of these counterfeiters and pirates.

Due to sophistication in technology, counterfeiters of today are able to illegally copy and package products which may even look more attractive than the original product, but which can have harmful effects for consumers.Piracy of artistic material, counterfeiting of pharmaceutical, consumer goods and chemical substances as well as clothes and all other products of commercial value is criminal and must be condemned in no uncertain terms. 

In Ghana , the Trademarks Act of 2004, Act 664 protects Intellectual Property of individuals as well as organisations.  Section 51 of the Act empowers the Minister to make regulations for carrying out provisions of the Act and, to make regulations on the importation of goods with fraudulent marks. 

The Customs Excise and Preventive Service, Food and Drugs Board, Ghana Police, Ghana Standards Board, the Office of the Copyright Administrator, Musicians Union of Ghana, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and other stakeholder organisations have and continue to fight the menace of piracy and counterfeiting with their laws and every other available tool. 

The media, both print and electronic also continue to educate the general public on the implications of engaging in this criminal trade and the consequences of patronizing pirated and counterfeit products. 

The nation takes the opportunity to salute innovators and inventors whose creative ideas continue to inspire the world.  As we celebrate World Intellectual Properties Day today, we say Ayekoo to all the visionary men and women who continue to think beyond the ordinary to create, inspire and develop products to make our lives a little more comfortable. 

Would you ever consider eating a fake food product or taking a fake medicine?

BY:MRS.JENNIFER BONNAH, MEMBER OF GHANA COALITION ON ANTI-COUNTERFEITING PROJECT IN GHANA.