The European Union is implementing a new regional project EU4IP, serving to strengthen intellectual property rights in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Within the Project, on November 27-28, the International Seminar “Support to the Development of the Patent Attorney Certification System in Georgia” in being held in Tbilisi. The seminar is organized by Sakpatenti and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), with the financial support of the European Union.

The event was opened by Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of Sakpatenti, Ms, Ketevan Khutsishvili, Programme Manager of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, and Mr. Ibon Ormazabal, EU4IP Project Leader. 

As is known to the public, in the recent years, in order to introduce modern, international standards of intellectual property protection, Sakpatenti has arried out a number of reforms, among these, the reform of the patent attorney system.  It is noteworthy that the Law “On Patent Attorneys of Georgia” was adopted for the first time in Georgia, which regulates issues related to the patent attorney profession in a new way, according to the international best practices.

Exactly this reform was discussed by the participants of the seminar, together with the invited international experts, who considered the international best practices related to the patent attorney qualification exam, preparatory courses and continuous professional education standards. Special attention was focused on models of patent attorney qualification in the EU, determining exam content, format, and evaluation system.

The joint efforts of the European Union, EUIPO and Sakpatenti are directed at effective implementation of the patent attorney system as well as other reform in the intellectual property field, with the final objective to align maximally the intellectual property  protection system on the national level with the EU standards.

Together with representatives of Sakpatenti, Ms. Aleksandra Hermoinska, Examiner/Member of Adjudication Board in Legal and Jurisdiction Department, Polish Patent Office, and Ms. Elīna Velpe, Acting Head of the Legal Division of the Administrative and Finance Department, Patent Office of Latvia, participated in the event. Participants from the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, LEPL National Assessment and Examinations Center of Georgia  (NAEC), the High Council of Justice of Georgia  and the Training Center of Justice of Georgia  also attended the seminar. Mr. Yann Basire, Director, Center for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), and Mr. Jakob Kofoed, Chairman of the Examination Board for the European Qualifying Examination, European Patent Office (EPO), participated remotely in the seminar. Representatives of the Patent Offices of Ukraine and Moldova also joined event online, who  had an opportunity to familiarize with the ongoing reforms in Georgia as well as international practices discussed during the seminar.