Agreement reached on development of industrial property strategy for the Latvian Patent Office

During the two-day conference hosted by the Latvian Patent Office , the world's leading intellectual property rights experts and policy makers discussed the protection and importance of innovations fostering national economic growth and the development of a unified European patent system.

The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Dr Francis Gurry, met with the Latvian Minister for Culture, Dace Melbārde, and the Latvian Minister for Justice, Dzintars Rasnaās. Together with the Director of the Patent Office, Sandris Laganovskis, they discussed intellectual property strategy in the world and support for the Patent Office's industrial property strategy, which will be developed during 2016.

"I am delighted at the success of the Intellectual Property and Beyond conference, which brought together over 150 experts from Latvia and abroad. This conference clearly defined future challenges related to industrial property in Latvia, in particular issues relating to the level of patent commercialisation and improving cooperation between the main inventors - universities and entrepreneurs. The development of a unified industrial property strategy is therefore a significant step for the Patent Office to promote efficient cooperation between our most talented scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs, allowing them to compete more successfully both in Latvia and worldwide," said Sandris Laganovskis, the Director of the Patent Office.

"WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property policy, services, information and cooperation. We seek to promote a strong and balanced global IP system that benefits all the citizens of our 188 member states , including Latvia. The WIPO Secretariat stands ready to build on its excellent collaboration with the Latvian Patent Office and to support the development of an intellectual property strategy that will promote innovation and creativity and boost economic growth." said Dr Francis Gurry.

On 3-4 March, the largest intellectual property rights conference in the Baltics took place in Riga, bringing together more than 150 participants to discuss the latest developments and challenges in the sphere of intellectual property protection. The conference was attended by policymakers, opinion leaders and intellectual property experts from all around the world, as well as Latvian entrepreneurs concerned about protection of their intellectual property. The guests of honour at the conference were: Dr Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Christian Archambeau, Vice-President of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, Alberto Casado Cerviño, Vice-President of the European Patent Office, Antonius Tangena, President of the European Patent Institute, Dzintars Rasnaās, Latvian Minister for Justice and Dace Melbārde, Latvian Minister for Culture.

Speeches were also given by participants from Latvia: Agris Ķipurs (AirDog), Jānis Ošlejs (Primekss), Ivars Kalviņš (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis), Rūta Olmane (First Vice-President of the European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA)), and Indra Jonāne-Oša (Grindeks).

The "Intellectual Property and Beyond" conference was organised by the Latvian Patent Office as an official event of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.