Creative sector told to innovate, keep introducing new products

Dimiter Gantchev (left at the podium), deputy director and head of the Creative Industries Section of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), delivers his keynote address at the 4th Southeast Asian Creative Cities Network forum at the City Sports Club Cebu. Other speakers were (seated from left) Debbie V. Palao, Creative Cebu Council; Martin Venzky-Stalling, Creative Chiang Mai (Thailand); Dr. Neil Khor, Think City (Penang, Malaysia); Assistant Professor Dr. Kasemsak Uthaichana, Creative Chiang Mai (Thailand); and Dr. Dwinita (Tita) Larasati, Ma, Bandung Creative City forum (Indonesia).
(CDN/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

THE creative sector should constantly innovate and  introduce new products as  lifespans of innovations become shorter.

“Don’t expect the product to survive the next 20 years. Something different will be invented,” said Dimiter Gantchev, head of creative industries division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

He said the need to constantly offer new products is a challenge that the industry faces along with piracy, lack of a common database, lack of macroeconomic data on city level and the need for a measurement of embedded creativity.

“Creative industries take place in society. They need creative people and creative markets to exist,” he said during the recent 4th Southeast Asian Creative Cities Network Forum in Cebu City.

Gantchev said governments are turning to the creative industries agenda because it is a positive agenda.

“It is a new way of describing a growing area of social and economic life,” he said.

Creative industries also contribute to the total gross domestic product of the countries they are in, noting that there is a positive correlation between creative industries and gross domestic product.

A study conducted by WIPO showed that the contribution of creative industries formed positive correlations higher than 0.4 with foreign direct investment inflow, global innovation index, GDP per capita, global competitiveness index, business freedom and freedom from corruption.

Outputs in the creative industry can be converted into economic goods, Gantchez said. In order to facilitate the monetization of creative outputs, licensing of intellectual property and copyright should be looked into.

He said enabling copyright will also help protect the moral rights, integrity  innovation of the creative people.

“In terms of the playing field, creative industries of developing countries are not far from the more progressive or developed ones. This is a level playing field;  there are no major differences,” he said.