The Agreement between the Government of Georgia and the European Patent Organisation on Validation of European Patents entered into force. From January 15, 2024, it will be possible to validate European patent applications and patents granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) in Georgia.
Within the framework of the Unified Program of the State Language, three-day training was held at Sakpatenti Head Office in Mtskheta. The purpose of the training was to introduce to the staff of the Office the rules of transcription-transliteration of foreign languages developed by the State Language Department and the updated norms of the literary language and to deepen their knowledge in this direction. The training was planned and organized on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Sakpatenti and the State Language Department.
The Commission for Accreditation has revealed the winner of the competition announced for granting accreditation to a collective management organization of economic rights and granted accreditation to the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPOA) both in the field of copyright and related rights.
The National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti” begins one more reform – in the field of patent attorneys. The draft Law “On Patent Attorneys of Georgia”, prepared by Sakpatenti, was one of the items included in the agenda of the Government meeting, headed by Mr. Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia. The draft was approved by the members of the Government and it will be sent to the Parliament of Georgia by the end of the year.
The Millennium Innovation Award (MIA) was held for the ninth time this year. Sakpatenti is the constant and active supporter of the competition. Every year the National Intellectual Property Center awards finalist teams and for already the third year participates in the evaluation of the competition projects and selection of the winning teams. The objective of the Millennium Innovation Award competition is to stimulate creation of innovations and new technologies among youth and to promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines. The Competition is organized by the Millennium Foundation, which implements the project in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and with the financial support of the U.S. Embassy.
On the initiative of Sakpatenti, the process of development and introduction of the specialized Distance Learning Course on Intellectual Property Law DLJTIP of the World Intellectual Property Organization Academy (WIPO Academy) was launched. The course is intended for Georgian judges and is aimed at approximation with the European Union standards and best practices in the intellectual property field. The project is implemented within the Action Plan 2023 of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Agreement - through cooperation of Sakpatenti with the High School of Justice and with the support of WIPO.
As is known to the public, a large-scale reform is being implemented in the field of management of copyright and related rights. Within the reform, taking into consideration the relevant directives of the European Parliament and the European Council, issues of collective management of economic rights have been reviewed qualitatively and regulated in accordance with the international best practices. In particular, the new Law has imperatively imposed on the organizations wishing to carry out collective management of economic rights the obligation to pass state accreditation. Along with this, Sakpatenti, as the body determining the state policy in the field of management of intellectual property, has been obliged within 2 months after enactment of the Law to announce an accreditation competition for granting accreditation to a collective management organization of economic rights.
Representatives of the National Intellectual Property Centre of Georgia – “Sakpatenti” participated in the meeting of the EU-Georgia Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications. The Sub-Committee, which is held annually, is established on the basis of the Association Agreement to regulate issues related to geographical indications between the parties.
The award ceremony of the annual Competition of Young Inventors and Researchers “Leonardo da Vinci” was held at the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia. From the foundation of the competition, the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti” is its loyal supporter and a constant member of the competition commission.
Within the joint project (GESIP) of Sakpatenti and the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), at the Head Office of Sakpatenti in Mtskheta, three-day training started for examiners of the Department of Inventions and New Varieties and Breeds, which will be held on November 14-16. The main topic of the training is the freedom to operate (FTO) search in the field of information and communication technologies. The freedom to operate search is the process of study according to which the risk of infringement of patents of third parties are assessed during commercial use of a given product or technology.