Sakpatenti and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) will Summarize Results of Cooperation

The EU-Georgia Intellectual Property Project (EUGIPP) is drawing to a close. The Project, which is implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) with the support of the European Union, is aimed to develop and strengthen the intellectual property system in Georgia. The Closing Event is held at Tbilisi Marriott Hotel, which is attended by Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Sakpatenti Chairman, Mr. Sandris Laganovskis, Director of the Institutional and Cooperation Service, EUIPO, Mr. Ignacio de Medrano, Head of the International Cooperation Service, EUIPO, Mr. Martin Marianov, EUGIPP Project Leader, Ms. Ketevan Khutsishvili, Programme Manager of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, as well as representatives of Sakpatenti and various state agencies, project experts and beneficiaries. 

At the meeting, the Project main achievements and future perspectives will be discussed. The EUGIPP Project is ongoing since 2020 and will be completed in June 2023. The main beneficiary of the Project is the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti”.

Throughout the Project, within various components, a number of activities were implemented, which covered support in development of the effective system of intellectual property protection and enforcement in Georgia and increasing public awareness on intellectual property. The Professional Development Program was launched, which implies further elaboration of trademark and design examination and its approximation with the EU legislation and practices. Within the component, staff members of Sakpatenti were trained who are immediately involved in the examination process. They shared knowledge and experience of EUIPO experts, on the basis of which, they will ensure compliance of the conducted examination quality with international standards and requirements. For effective implementation of this process, the design and trademark examination guidelines were developed, a comparative analysis of the Georgian and EU trademark legislations was also carried out and draft legislative amendments were prepared.

It is significant that to develop and introduce at Sakpatenti the quality management systems, to certify in accordance with the requirements of the International Standard ISO 9001:2015, within the Project relevant procedures were identified and analyzed. Attention was focused on supporting introduction of new IP services, which is one of the priorities for the development of the field. For this purpose, a number of activities were organized in the direction of development of IP pre-diagnostic services.  

Another noteworthy aspect is support in modernization, transparency and fair implementation of intellectual property rights enforcement policies and strategy. Within the Project, a number of legislative amendments related to enforcement of rights were drafted, guidelines for enforcement authorities were developed, the IP case-law compilation of the decisions of the General Court of the European Union (GCEU), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the Boards of Appeal (BOA) of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) was published in the Georgian language. In addition, with the participation of Georgian and European representatives of enforcement authorities, a forum, seminars and training sessions were organized, during which Georgian judges shared the best practice of European courts. The events were also attended by representatives of state agencies involved in the IPR enforcement and the private sector. A comparative analysis of the IP Offices of the European Union and Sakpatenti Chamber of Appeals was carried out, on the basis of which a recommendation document was drafted for standardization of Sakpatenti status and structure. 

It is noteworthy that in order to introduce intellectual property teaching into the school education, teachers were trained in teaching methodology. The training program included teaching basics of intellectual property and practical exercises. In addition, teachers were provided with lesson plans, books, booklets and board games developed within the Project and translated into the Georgian language. In total, 108 teachers from 28 schools were trained, who delivered 950 lessons on intellectual property for 2700 pupils. 

According to the Project data, in order to improve and modernize the intellectual property system in Georgia, with active involvement of IP practitioners, with participation of IP enforcers and academic community, over 60 capacity development activities were held. More than 1000 participants attended the events and over 300 awareness products were published from learning materials, webinars and e-learning courses. 

At the event held today, attention will be focused on challenges and objectives identified in the process of implementation of the above-mentioned work. To ensure fast and efficient development of the intellectual property system of Georgia, it is important to deepen and strengthen relations within the framework of international cooperation, which will emphasize support of Georgia in the development of intellectual property field.