Head of Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze is attending Conference “Georgia against Counterfeiting and Piracy”. The event is organized by National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia – “Sakpatenti” and Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The aim of the conference is to support effective implementation of execution mechanisms of intellectual property rights, deepening communication between private and state sectors, sharing interagency and international experience, as well as connecting people interested in execution of these rights.
During the greeting speech, head of the Investigation Service - Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze spoke about the importance and role of Investigation Service in the process of formation and protection of the effective system for intellectual property rights in the country.
“Prevention, detection and suppression of crimes committed against intellectual property rights, helps economic development of the country. Thus, active involvement in the above mentioned activities by law enforcement authority, such as Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia as an authority fighting against financial-economic crime, is especially important. Our Service represents one of the important links of the chain, which has to provide protection of intellectual property rights in the country and form effective system in this field” – Head of the Investigation Service said.
As Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze stated, infringement of copyright and related rights and illegal usage of another person’s trademark are those crimes, that is under investigative jurisdiction of Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia and is one of the important priorities for the Service. Besides this, Investigation Service is actively involved in all those processes, designed to improve environment for execution of intellectual property rights. Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze underlined, that Investigation Service will continue cooperation with “Sakpatenti” and international organizations, in order to raise effectiveness of the investigation of those crimes committed in the field of intellectual property rights and implementation mutual projects.
Within the frames of the conference, participants are discussing the results and challenges of steps recently taken in Georgia, towards fighting against counterfeit, as well as those mechanisms, that provide appropriate execution of intellectual property rights. Attention is emphasized on changes made in 2018 in Law of Georgia on Border Protection Measures Connected with Intellectual Property based on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), Parallel imports, provision of evidence and determination of damages, international practices and other actual issues.
Approximately 100 delegates are attending two-day conference. Among them are representatives of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Department of US Customs and Border Protection of Intellectual Property at the US Department of State Security, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), World Customs Organization (WCO), intellectual property authorities of different countries, world chamber of commerce, local and foreign private companies, Interagency Coordinating Council for Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights at Sakpatenti, Government agencies and business associations.