On March 10, 2020, the Director General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia delivered a public lecture at the Auditorium of Grha Sabha Pramana, Universitas Gadjah Mada. The event was organized through a collaboration among UGM's Directorate of Research, the UGM Faculty of Law, the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI), and the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Yogyakarta Special Region. The lecture's theme was "Intellectual Property and the Protection of Innovation," with the sub-theme "Increasing Intellectual Property Registrations as Intellectual Appreciation and Commercial Strategy." The lecture was attended by nearly a thousand participants, comprising students and academics from the Faculty of Law and related faculties within UGM, as well as from other universities in the Yogyakarta Special Region, and general participants including advocates and regional government staff.
The public lecture was organized to build understanding of intellectual property and to nurture creativity and innovation within higher education. In his presentation, Director General of Intellectual Property Dr. Freddy Harris, ACCS., explained that innovation through university research is critically important in supporting the generation of intellectual property protection -- whether in the form of patents, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights. Compared to other countries, the number of patents produced by Indonesia remains very low. It is therefore essential to drive innovation from universities -- among both students and lecturers -- to encourage more active invention and patent generation. Such innovation need not take the form of complex inventions; it can begin with the development of existing inventions, which may qualify for utility patents (simple patents). To achieve this, the support of university leaders -- from Deans as faculty heads, to Directors of Research, to Rectors as the highest university authorities -- is indispensable.
The public lecture, moderated by Dean of the UGM Faculty of Law Prof. Dr. Sigit Riyanto, S.H., LL.M., concluded at 12:30. The formal session was followed by a social gathering and shared lunch.
