The Role of Intellectual Property in Enhancing Entrepreneurship for Growth and Sustainability in STPs and AOIs

The overall theme for the 2018 IASP World Conference hosted by Isfahan Science and Technology Town is "Towards sustainable cities and communities: Fostering innovation ecosystems.” The description for the session to which this paper is directed refers specifically to six of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs") adopted by the United Nations in 2015. Those six SDGs are as follows: SDG2 (Zero hunger), SDG3 (Good health and well being), SDG6 (Clean water and sanitation), SDG7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG8 (Decent work and economic growth) and SDG13 (Climate action). This paper describes (1) the contribution of intellectual property to the achievement of SDGs, (2) programs and services to be implemented in Science and Technology Parks ("STPs") and Areas of Innovation ("AOIs") to support these efforts and (3) the role of IP and Innovation professionals with appropriate backgrounds in achieving desired results.