Women in Intellectual Property: Celebrating their Innovation and Creativity
Women have played a significant role in the field of intellectual property. However, the number of women innovators protecting their creations is still considerably smaller than that of men. According to a new study released by the European Patent Office (EPO), fewer than 1 in 7 inventors in Europe are women.
To address this imbalance, it is crucial to promote a more inclusive and diverse IP ecosystem to provide women with the knowledge, skills, resources, and support they need to achieve their goals. The 2023 World Intellectual Property campaign is an opportunity to celebrate all talented women around the world in the area of IP.
We recently spoke with Catherine Heng Yee Huynh, a bi-cultural and enthusiastic Intellectual Property Law and Data Privacy lawyer based in Paris, France. She is the founding partner of the law firm CATHERINE HENG YEE HUYNH and has expertise in the protection of creations, especially in France, mainland China and Hong Kong.
Catherine shared with us the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the IP domain, including the fact that women are still underrepresented in the field. However, she emphasised that gender should not define a person’s approach to IP. What matters is a person’s own personality.
She also shared a success story involving a woman entrepreneur in the field of furniture design. Catherine assisted in identifying the most important products and developing the most effective IP strategies to protect her IP in China. This experience helped the woman entrepreneur to understand the importance of designing a global IP strategy in advance and investing in this field.
We are proud of all the women who have achieved great success in this field and are working to make IP systems more equitable and just. Let's continue to raise the voices of women and celebrate their accomplishments in IP.