An Official Agreement in the Field of Protection of Geographical Indications was Reached between Sakpatenti and the National Intellectual Property Administration of China

Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti”, met in Beijing with Dr. SHEN Changyu, Commissioner of the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNIPA).

During the bilateral meeting an agreement was signed, in which the parties confirmed their intention to cooperate in the field of protection of geographical indications. The Letter of Intent provides for cooperation in the following areas:

- Promote mutual understanding of the geographical indications protection systems of both sides, jointly conduct a comparative study on geographical indications protection systems, and share development opportunities;

- Carry out exchanges and sharing of geographical indications protection practices in areas of common concern for both Parties, including case studies, origin research, conferences and forums, etc.;

- Support surveys on the intent and needs for geographical indications protection, and put forward a recommended list of geographical indications for reciprocal protection.

Mr. Soso Giorgadze expressed hope that cooperation between the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China and Sakpatenti in the field of protection of geographical indications will be strengthened and will yield tangible results.

The parties emphasized the importance of geographical indications as one of the important directions of intellectual property, which benefits the producers and consumers and plays the significant role in the development of the national economy. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of Sakpatenti invited the Commissioner of CNIPA to Georgia.

The above-mentioned meeting took place within the Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property. The Conference was held for the third time and was co-organized by the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNIPA),the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as well as by the National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China (NCAC), Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) and People’s Government of Beijing Municipality.

The Conference was opened by the Commissioner of the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNIPA). Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) also addressed the participants. The Conference was attended by intellectual property authorities, ministers and vice ministers, representatives of the government of China, business leaders and professionals in field of intellectual property.

The Third Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property took place in Beijing on September 11-14, 2024. Within the Conference, the delegation of Georgia participated in a plenary session, attended by up to 450 participants. During the session the discussion was held on various topics, such as regional cooperation, green development, digital transformation and intellectual property value realization. Within the same conference, a round table took place, which was held exclusively for IP authorities of BRI partner countries and representatives of the Chinese IP authorities, with WIPO and relevant regional offices. At the meeting, Mr. Soso Giorgadze together with other leaders discussed issues of past and future cooperation.

At the end of the visit, Sakpatenti Chairman delivered a presentation on Georgian geographical indications protection system and products to the Conference participants.