New copyright regulations will come into force by the end of 2008, Registrar General Marlene Christopher has announced.

Mrs. Christopher said the move would help her department keep up-to-date with modern trends for the protection of intellectual property rights.

"The Government of Bermuda is committed to the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights and I encourage everyone to recognise his or her own creative genius and to respect the creativity and innovation of their fellow Bermudians," she said in a statement.

Mrs. Christopher was speaking ahead of the eighth anniversary of World Intellectual Property Day which takes place today.

Yesterday, Attorney General Kim Wilson marked the day by presenting seven-year-old inventor Kirk Stapff with a certificate of registration of design for his "Flying Drink Top-Top Kopter" bottle cap. He becomes the youngest person to register a desgin patent with the Registry General.

Aims of World Intellectual Property Day include raising awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks, and designs impact on daily life; increasing understanding of how protecting intellectual property rights helps promote creativity and innovation; celebrating creativity and the contribution made by creators and innovators in the development of societies across the globe; and encouraging respect for the intellectual property rights of others.