In view of the implementation of the substantive examination of patent and utility model applications scheduled for January 2022, the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) plans, among other things, to strengthen the capacities and to train the patent examiners in order to guarantee a better quality of the examination of applications and titles granted.
The objective is to follow-up on the capacity-building workshop organised by AfriPI in April 2021 (in Abuja) and support the work of National Task Force created at this occasion with a view to suggest a draft law and a plan of action for GIs in Nigeria. The national task force for GIs in Nigeria gathers key players in the legal landscape in Nigeria. This innovative approach seeks to join forces to create an enabling environment for the protection of GIs in Nigeria and ensure the final adoption of the acts (Law and by-law).
Today, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on technical bilateral cooperation between the European Union Intellectual Property Office, EUIPO and the National Intellectual Property Center Sakpatenti of Georgia has been renewed for another 4 years.
On 25-26 October 2021, ARISE+ IPR hosted a ‘Colloquium on IP Valuation and the Use of IP as an Asset’ for government officials of the ASEAN Member States and ASEAN SMEs and MSMEs. The colloquium’s objectives were to highlight the importance of IP Valuation and Commercialisation and to be a platform for exploring the economic value of intangible assets, namely intellectual property rights.
Under the framework of Annual Work Plan 4, ARISE+ IPR organised two workshops on IP mediation in October 2021, targeting different groups of ASEAN Member States (AMS). The first workshop, ‘Introduction to IP Mediation Services’, took place on 11 and 12 October and targeted policymakers from AMS where the IP mediation services are not yet available. The workshop aimed to underline the benefits, advantages and limitations of IP mediation mechanisms. Success stories and case studies of IP mediation were shared by the EUIPO colleagues dealing with mediation cases.
The National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti) has recently obtained the ISO 9001 quality management system certification with the support of the EU Georgia Intellectual Property Project (EUGIPP).
The Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) is the premier event on the regional agricultural calendar. It provides a forum for the key decision-makers in the region’s public and private sectors to better acknowledge the importance of agriculture and rural life for the region’s economic, social and environmental stability.
On 20-21 October 2021, carIPI, in collaboration with the CCJ Academy for Law, hosted two training sessions on the interrelation between trade marks and geographical indications to enhance the capacities of legal members of the judiciary in emerging areas of law relevant to the Caribbean region. Almost all the CARIFORUM States have put in place sui generis GI laws but, so far, there have been no major GI-related disputes in the courts.
On 20 September 2021, CarIPI and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) jointly hosted a regional workshop to provide technical support in the area of international trade mark registration to selected companies led by women under CEDA’s WE-Xport programme.
The event was in the form of panel presentations, with time allocated for questions, and a 30-minute business coaching session.
On 15 September 2021, CarIPI organised a regional workshop to present and discuss the results of the questionnaires received from the CARIFORUM IP offices based on the Common Practice of European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN) on Graphic Representation of Designs – CP6.