Mr. Soso Giorgadze met with Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Within the 66^th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of Sakpatenti, met with Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of WIPO. The meeting was also attended by the Permanent Representatiion of Georgia to the UN office and other International organizations in Geneva and Ms. Nino Chikovani, Deputy Chairperson of Sakpatenti.

At the meeting, Mr. Soso Giorgadze presented to Mr. Daren Tang the instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, signed by Mr. Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia. It is noteworthy that the Georgian Parliament supported the ratification of the Act on March 18, 2025, as a result of which, the scope of protection of unique Georgian products was significantly expanded and included 23 states party to the Geneva Act and 2 intergovernmental organizations – the European Union and the African Intellectual Property Organization.

At the meeting, the fruitful cooperation between Sakpatenti and WIPO was emphasized. It was noted that precisely with the great support of WIPO (based on the Memorandum signed between Sakpatenti, WIPO and Kutaisi International University (KIU)), the International Master’s Program “Intellectual Property, Innovation and Entrepreneurship” has been introduced in Georgia. In the autumn, the first cohort of students will be accepted by Kutaisi International University, where highly qualified Georgian and foreign professors, selected with active involvement of the WIPO Academy, will conduct the teaching. Graduates of the Master’s Program will be awarded a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Intellectual Property and Innovation Management, which has no equivalent in the region.

It was noted at the meeting that Georgia has also acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty and, to comply with the commitments under the Treaty, Sakpatenti website has been fully adapted for persons with disabilities.

The Chairman of Sakpatenti informed the Director General of WIPO that reform aimed to strengthen the institution of patent attorneys is continued actively. It is also noteworthy that in Kutaisi, in an ultra-modern technological hub, Sakpatenti Education and Training Center is being arranged, which will play a strategic role in the development of Georgia’s innovative ecosystem. The Training Center will combine all functions related to dissemination of knowledge in the intellectual property field and will be equipped with modern, innovative technologies, which will significantly increase the scale of cooperation with the WIPO Academy.

It was noted at the meeting that last year the joint International Executive Program on Geographical Indications (GI) of Sakpatenti and the World Intellectual Property Organization was held with a renewed format. Mr.  Soso Giorgadze also noted that an intensive three-stage Training of Trainers (ToT) Program was held within the IPTI (National Intellectual Property (IP) Training Institutes) initiative of the World Intellectual Property Organization Academy (WIPO Academy) was significant, which was led by international experts invited by the WIPO Academy.

At the end of the meeting, the parties highlighted long-term initiatives and prospects for deepening cooperation.