Soso Giorgadze met the President of the European Patent Office, Antonio Campinos
Soso Giorgadze, the chairman of the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia - "Sakpatent", met with the President of the European Patent Office (EPO) Antonio Campinos in Munich.
"Sakpatenti" disseminates information about this.
According to their own information, this was the first official meeting at the level of heads of patent agencies after the validation agreement entered into force on January 15 of this year. Soso Giorgadze thanked Antonio Campinos for his support in the complex and dynamic validation process.
"It was said at the meeting that "the validation agreement is mutually beneficial, because, in the form of Georgia, the 45th country is added to the European patent space - one of the fastest growing economies in the region, which has a modern and effective system of intellectual property rights protection. On the other hand, for Georgia, which was granted the status of a candidate for EU membership a month ago, the entry into force of the validation is another important step on the way to European integration. Georgia expects that the process of Georgia's accession to the European Patent Convention will be accelerated, which means that Georgia will become a full member of the European Patent Organization.
It is worth noting that the validation agreement includes daily cooperation between the EPO and Sakpatent directly on the applications that will be submitted for review within the framework of validation, which naturally requires expert services in accordance with EU standards at the technical level.
During the meeting, it was emphasized that the provision of services by Georgia will be based on common, unified standards, for which Sakpatent has already carried out a number of important reforms - amendments were made to the patent law, electronic systems were improved and made compatible with EPO systems. It was also noted that raising and improving the qualifications of experts is one of Sakpatent's priority areas.
At the meeting, special attention was paid to future cooperation. Strengthening of intellectual property protection mechanisms, introduction of new services and strengthening of educational direction are the priorities discussed by the parties. Attention was also focused on the strengthening of the Institute of Patent Attorneys - the reform has already started and the relevant bill has been submitted to the Parliament of Georgia.
At the end of the meeting, Antonio Campinos promised his unwavering support to his Georgian colleague. The parties agreed that by the end of the year they will develop a common action plan, which will be signed by an official agreement.
Soso Giorgadze, together with Merab Kutsia, head of the Invention and New Varieties Department, visited the EPO Optics Directorate. The director of the optics department, Garrett Lord, hosted the members of the delegation and introduced them to the specifics of the department's work," it is noted in the published information.
