Commerce Ministry to work with Sport Ministry to increase the promotion of intellectual property rights in sport

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries has given its commitment to work with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport to advance the role of intellectual property rights in the business of sport in Jamaica.
This commitment was given at the Regional Conference on the Strategic Use of Intellectual Property (IP) in Sport held Tuesday, September 19 at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, as Director General in the Ministry, Mr Vivian Brown, delivered remarks on behalf of Minister Karl Samuda to members of the local sport fraternity as well as delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Noting that the value of Brand Jamaica was estimated to be between US$33 billion and US$35 billion annually and the significant contribution of sporting excellence to that brand, Mr Brown pointed out that the country still faced the challenge of effectively monitoring and protecting Brand Jamaica from exploitation by some in the global marketplace.
In spite of those challenges, however, the business of sport had to be a part of any conversation about intellectual property rights and protection, Mr Brown said, because this played an important role in the monetization of the industry.
He added that even as Government provided the facilities through agencies like the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO) and JAMPRO to address the exploitation of Brand Jamaica, part of the solution must also come from a deeper understanding by consumers and businesspeople of the value of branding and labelling in protecting IP assets.
In that regard, Mr Brown said, there needs to be greater public awareness and understanding of the value that the packaging and branding of products added to local commodities.
The two-day IP and Sport Conference was organised by the Word Intellectual Property Organization in co-operation with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, an agency of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries.
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Contact:
Director, Communication & Public Relations
Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries
Hope Gardens, Kingston 6
T – 927-1731-50 / 618-7128; E: pr2@micaf.gov.jm; daoconnor@micaf.gov.jm
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