Intellectual property law education can protect careers
in the jewellery industry, Ethics Commission told
Sabyasachi Ray, CEO of India’s Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), making a point during the Ethics Commission session on October 3. Looking on (from left) are Lisa Koenigsberg, President of Initiatives in Art and Culture; Tiffany Steven, Ethics Commission President; and Sara Yood, Deputy General Counsel, JVC.
OCTOBER 3, 2023
Imparting education about intellectual property (IP) law can protect careers of members of the jewellery industry including designers, a panel heard. The discussion took part on October 3, 2023, during the Ethics Commission session at the CIBJO Congress.
The session was also the third part of a three-part series on IP organised by CIBJO in collaboration with the U.S.-based Initiatives in Art and Culture focusing on the protection of IP in the jewellery industry.
The first part, which took place in New York in July, looked at the subject from an American perspective, concentrating mainly on smaller jewellery designers and manufacturers. The second part, which took place in Italy in September, studied the European industry, with an emphasis on how jewellery brands defend their IP. The third part at the CIBJO Congress was Asia-focused,
The panellists stressed that communications about how international IP law can protect the interests of creators of intellectual property were a vital means of generating a just framework in the jewellery industry.
“If designers can get information earlier in their careers about what is legal and is not legal, this will serve them well for their careers and not infringe others,” said Sara Yood, Deputy General Counsel of the New York-based Jewelers Vigilance Committee.
Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director of India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said Indian jewellery making communities need to protect themselves against possible infringement of their intellectual property.
“The whole patent can be developed in the community,” he said, referring to communities of hand-made jewellery makers in India, a leading origin of handcrafted jewellery.
“Give them their legal right and let them enjoy their own product.”
Lisa Koenigsberg, President of Initiatives in Art and Culture, thanked the JVC for their guidance on legal protection of intellectual property in the jewellery industry.
The panel was chaired by Tiffany Stevens, the CIBJO Ethics Commission President and CEO and General Counsel, JVC.
