Day of Inventors and Innovators in Tajikistan Date in the current year: August 18, 2024

The history of the Day of Inventors and Innovators in the former Soviet republics began in the late 1950s, when the celebration was initiated by the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. In 1979, the official status of this professional holiday was confirmed by the corresponding decree issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. It was celebrated annually on the last Saturday of June.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some ex-Soviet republics (for example, Russia and Belarus) continued to celebrate the Day of Inventors and Innovators on the original date, some canceled the holiday, and some moved it to another date. For example, Ukrainian inventors and innovators celebrate their professional holiday on the third Saturday of September, and in Tajikistan, the holiday is observed on the third Sunday of August.

The intellectual property rights of inventors in Tajikistan, as well as in other countries, are protected by patents. The National Patent and Information Center (NPIC) is responsible for issuing patents to Tajikistani inventors and registering trademarks. It was formed in 1993 at the premises of the Research Institute of Scientific and Technical Information and Technical and Economic Research of the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Economic Relations.

Tajikistan joined the World Intellectual Property Organization in 1994 and the Eurasian Patent Convention in 1995. The first patent for an invention in independent Tajikistan was issued on September 5, 1996. A year later, the first competition for the best inventor took place in Tajikistan. Its winner was awarded a gold medal by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

In 2001, the National Patent and Information Center published a book titled Inventors of the Republic of Tajikistan containing information on 165 patented inventions (a total of 262 patents were issued by the NPIC between its founding in 1993 and the publication of the book in 2001). Inventions were mainly in the fields of physic, medicine and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and land improvement, chemistry, metallurgy, light industry, geology and construction, electrical engineering, instrument making, and mechanical engineering.

Among the inventors were mainly employees of the Academy of Sciences and research institutes, university professors, ministry employees, managers and employees of factories and other industrial facilities. The overwhelming majority of inventors (85%) were men, but recently, the government of Tajikistan has been making effort to support female inventors. For example, in 2019, nine Tajikistani inventors won awards at the Korea International Women’s Invention Exposition (KIWIE) in Seoul.

On their professional holiday, the most distinguished Tajikistani inventors and innovators are awarded with certificates and valuable gifts. The Day of Inventors and Innovators is marked by conferences, competitions, and other professional events.