The IP Solutions business of Thomson Reuters announced today a partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to launch a program giving industrial property offices and government and academic researchers in developing countries free access to global patent information. The aim of the program, which is due to launch in September 2010, is to foster global innovation by enabling the development of solutions to the world’s technical challenges.
“On this World Intellectual Property Day, we are honored to partner with WIPO to enable innovation globally,” says Rob Willows, vice president of patent office relations for Thomson Reuters. “The intellectual capital of a country should not be limited by its economic status, and with this program, inventors in developing countries will be able to leverage the world’s leading patent research and analysis solution, Thomson Innovation, so they can innovate more effectively.”
This partnership is to be modeled after WIPO’s “Access to Research for Development and Innovation” (aRDi) initiative, which provides free online access to major scientific and technical journals by not-for-profit institutions in the least-developed countries, and low-cost access to industrial property offices in developing countries. Patent content is a source of rich information when doing scientific research, as the majority of what is contained in a patent application is not yet publicly available elsewhere, and such access will significantly enhance the innovative ability of these regions of the world.
Thomson Innovation, the premier intellectual property research and analysis platform from Thomson Reuters with patent, scientific literature, business and news content, will be made available to researchers through the program.
The goals of World IP Day are to raise awareness for how patents, copyrights, trademarks and designs impact daily life; increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps promote creativity and innovation; celebrate creativity and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies; and, encourage respect for the IP rights of others.
D.C.