Abstracts of oral and poster presentations

Abstract

Introduction: In today's world, an intellectual property (IP) asset is treated as a tool to foster innovation of any successful entity in the technology-driven world and the effective use of one or more types of (IP) is necessary to gain and maintain a substantial competitive edge in the marketplace. This is certainly true for medical and healthcare sectors. The concept of IP refers to any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use. Objectives: To broaden the understanding of IP system among healthcare professionals in Sri Lanka in order to effectively utilize the incentive system based on IP rights to promote medical innovation for sustainable development of the healthcare ecosystem in the country Methods: This research is carried out primarily as a critical review of literature. Comparative research and analysis are deployed to glean the experience of selected jurisdictions. Results: Even though advanced and emerging economies have effectively used the IP system to promote innovation in the healthcare sector, Sri Lanka has made inadequate use of the same, viewed through the lens of IP statistics. When compared with the experience of advanced countries, the IP system has been and is effectively used to protect, promote, commercialize healthcare innovation. Moreover, use of complementary IP strategy is necessary to extract value and commercialize inventions in the healthcare sector. Conclusions: It is imperative for the healthcare sector of the country to effectively utilize the IP system to promote innovation and investment. This research suggests that policymakers need to pay urgent attention to this perceived deficiency in the healthcare ecosystem.