Chacha, Churchkhela, Sulguni and dozens of Georgian geographical indications are becoming the object of special protection on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. Today, on February 1, 2023, Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia Sakpatenti, and Mr. Eugeniu Rusu, Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI) of the Republic of Moldova, signed the interstate Agreement on the Mutual Recognition and Protection of Geographical Indications of the two countries.
Program Chief of Party Mr. Mark McCord and USAID Economic Governance Program Chief of Party Ms. Natalia Beruashvili. During the meeting the projects implemented within Sakpatenti/USAID cooperation and ongoing projects were discussed and plans for 2023 were considered.
On December 29, Sakpatenti Chairman Mr. Soso Giorgadze held a meeting with judges of the general courts of Georgia. The meeting, held at Sakpatenti head office, was attended by judges of the Court of Appeals, representatives of the High Council of Justice, the High School of Justice and the Chairman’s Bureau of the Court of Appeals. Ms. Ketevan Khutsishvili, Programme Manager of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, also participated in the event. During the meeting, the draft amendments to the intellectual property legislation were considered, which are related to the intellectual property rights enforcement issues. The draft amendments were prepared within the EU-Georgia Intellectual Property Project (EUGIPP). The judges expressed their views regarding the planned amendments and introduced to the participants of the meeting the statistical data of hearing intellectual property related cases.
According to the decision of the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti”, in the current year, the Georgian Technical University (GTU) obtained patents for six inventions and one utility model. The GTU inventions are related to a natural gas leak control, alarm and management device and a gas detector, a vehicle for disabled persons wheelchairs motion up-down onto stairs and a system for special need persons motion on stairwell, a hail protection device for vineyards and waterintaking construction disposed under riverbed. The GTU also became owner of a patent for one utility model which is related to a method for cement-concrete filler preparation and filling. The University as a patent owner was granted the exclusive right, during the period of the patent protection of the inventions, to produce, sell, disseminate, import or use them otherwise in the course of trade. Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Chairman of Sakpatenti, personally handed over the certificates confirming the right to Mr. David Gurgenidze, Rector of the University, and the inventors. The patent certificates were placed at the GTU Intellectual Property Law Laboratory, which has been functioning for already 1 year.
Ms. Manana Pruidze, Deputy Chairperson of Sakpatenti, participated in the 9th meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Committee in Trade Configuration, which took place in the capital of the Kingdom of Belgium on December 13 and 14, 2022. One of the issues of the Committee agenda was related to the progress of implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement in the field of intellectual property.
Granting of the status of geographical indications and appellations of origin to special Georgian products is carried out in Georgia by Sakpatenti. A geographical indication and an appellation of origin inform consumers about the origin of the product and its unique characteristics which are attributable to the place of origin. The characteristic environment of this place and the traditional knowledge of production existing among the local population there make each such product unique.
Within the joint project of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, and Sakpatenti, 68 participants completed successfully the General Course on Intellectual Property. The students with the top grades at the final exam were handed over the international certificates of the course completion, along with presents and special awards, by Mr. Soso Giorgadze, Sakpatenti Chairman, and Ms. Sabine Machl, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia, attending the award ceremony. Ms. Caroline Storan, WIPO Distance Learning Officer, congratulated the guests and students present at the event.
To promote innovations and new technologies among pupils of upper grades, the Millennium Innovation Award was held for the eighth time this year. The competition is organized annually by the Millennium Foundation, with the financial support of the US Embassy in Georgia and the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. Sakpatenti is a loyal and active supporter of the competition, it awards finalist teams and for already the second year participates in the evaluation and selection of the winning teams.
A geographical indication, which indicates a place which determines the specific characteristics of products originating there, requires special protection in the conditions of globalization. To share experience and knowledge on this topic, a symposium was held in Antalya, the Republic of Turkey, with the participation of representatives of Intellectual Property Offices of various countries.
The regional meeting was organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT), the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia Sakpatenti and the Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan. At the symposium, held on November 24 and 25, 2022, Sakpatenti was represented by Ms. Nino Chikovani, Deputy Chairperson, and Mr. Merab Kutsia, Head of Department of Inventions and New Varieties and Breeds.
Giorgi Merabishvili is a Georgian honey producer who uses his
intellectual property (IP) knowledge to help his
cooperative of honey producers to locally market and promote their Ninotsminda
Honey using the geographical indication (GI) for their region.