GENEVA: The UN on Thursday hailed a significant increase in women listed as inventors in global patent filings over the past decade, but warned a pronounced gender gap remained.
New data from the World Intellectual Property Organization showed that women were listed in 31 percent of the some 224,000 international patent applications it published last year.
That compares to just 23 percent a decade earlier, the UN agency said.
WIPO chief Francis Gurry celebrated in a statement “the innovative, creative accomplishments of women around the globe.”
He pointed out that “international patent applications are an important benchmark for measuring innovative activity in the contemporary, global economy,” stressing that “anything less than the achievement of full parity between men and women is a missed opportunity.”
The agency’s data showed that South Korea was best in class on gender, with at least one woman listed among inventors in more than 50 percent of all international patent applications.
China, the world’s second largest filer of international patents, also came in second when it came to including women inventors in its filings, at 48 percent.
The world leader in international patent applications, the United States, meanwhile only listed women among the inventors in 33 percent of its filings, placing it fifth, WIPO said.
International patent applications in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and chemistry showed the highest inclusion of women, with female inventors listed in a majority of patents in these disciplines, WIPO said.
Biotech topped the ranking, counting women inventors in 58 percent of all filings, while patents related to mechanical elements was at the bottom of the list, with just 14 percent.
Women listed as inventors in third of global patent filings: UN
Women listed as inventors in third of global patent filings: UN
Makkah museum displays world’s largest Qur’an
MAKKAH: The Holy Qur’an Museum at the Hira Cultural District in Makkah is showcasing a monumental handwritten copy of the Holy Qur’an, recognized as the largest Qur’an of its kind in the world.
The manuscript measures 312 cm by 220 cm and comprises 700 pages, earning the museum recognition from Guinness World Records for displaying the world’s largest Qur’an, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The manuscript is a magnified reproduction of a historic Qur’an dating back to the 16th century, the SPA stated.
The original copy measures 45 cm by 30 cm, with the chapters written primarily in Thuluth script, while Surah Al-Fatiha was penned in Naskh, reflecting the refined artistic choices and calligraphic diversity of the era.
The Qur’an is a unique example of Arabic calligraphy, gilding and bookbinding, showcasing Islamic art through intricate decorations, sun-shaped motifs on the opening folio, and elaborately designed frontispiece and title pages that reflect a high level of artistic mastery.
The manuscript was endowed as a waqf in 1883. Its original version is currently preserved at the King Abdulaziz Complex for Endowment Libraries, serving as a lasting testament to Muslims’ enduring reverence for the Qur’an and the richness of Islamic arts across the centuries.
