MFA Press Release: Congratulatory Letter from President S R Nathan to His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on the WIPO Global Leaders Award

President S R Nathan has written to congratulate His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on receiving the first World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Global Leaders Award. The text of the letter is appended below:

29 January 2009
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Kingdom of Thailand

Your Majesty

I was most delighted to learn that the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has honoured Your Majesty with the most prestigious first Global Leaders Award in recognition of Your Majesty's outstanding contributions to the cause of intellectual property . Your
Majesty's record of Royal inventions, with over 20 patents and 19 trademarks will, I am confident, inspire the people in particular the youths of Thailand to follow in Your Majesty's footsteps by inventing technologies that would benefit peoples of Thailand and other parts of the world .

The WIPO Award is a clear recognition of Your Majesty's lifelong and unwavering commitment to the promotion, development and respect for intellectual property . It is also testimony to Your Majesty's creativity, leadership, and strong contribution to Thai culture and society, and the improvement of the lives of the Thai people .

Please accept my sincere wishes for Your Majesty's continued good health and happiness, and for the continued prosperity and progress of the Kingdom of Thailand .

S R NATHAN

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Background on the WIPO Global Leaders Award

The WIPO Global Leaders Award is a prestigious award to recognise outstanding contributions by world leaders to the cause of intellectual property to promote development. His Majesty King Bhumibol is the first recipient of the Award, which was conferred by WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry at an award ceremony at the Klai Klangwon Palace in Hua Hin, Thailand, on 14 January 2009.

His Majesty King Bhumibol owns over 20 patents and 19 trademarks, and is also an artist with over 1,000 works, which include paintings, photographs as well as musical and literary compositions. His Majesty obtained his first patent in 1993 for a technology to alleviate water shortages during the dry season. Amongst His Majesty's well-known inventions are his rainmaking techniques and the Chaipattana aerator, which oxygenates stagnant water to make it habitable for living creatures. His Majesty also won the WIPO's Best Inventor Award in 2001 for the Chaipattana aerator.