On September 12 and 13 “WIPO National Workshop on IP Enforcement for Customs and Investigation Service Officials” was held, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the National Intellectual Property Center (Sakpatenti). The event was opened by the Head of the Investigation Service of Ministry of Finance of Georgia – Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze and Head of the National Intellectual Property Center (Sakpatenti) Nikoloz Gogilidze.
Within the frames of the seminar, participants have discussed counterfeit of trademarks, investigation and criminal prosecution of copyright piracy and current challenges in this field.
As Head of the Investigation Service, Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze said – Coordinated work between law enforcing authorities is crucial for combating crime in the field of intellectual property.
“Protecting intellectual property rights and combating counterfeiting has a great influence on economic development of the country. Implementation of accurate and effective legal mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights is one of the challenges of the Investigation Service. Therefore, we are ready to continue active cooperation and implementation of mutual projects together with “Sakpatenti” as well as international partner organizations, in order to make detection, prevention and investigation of the crime in the field of intellectual property even more effective.” – Mr. Levan Gamkrelidze stated.
As the Head of the National Intellectual Property Center (Sakpatenti) Nikoloz Gogilidze said – “It is highly appreciated that employees of the Investigation Service, actively participate in trainings organized by “Sakpatenti”. Above-mentioned helps them to become more effective in terms of investigation and prosecution of crimes committed in the field of intellectual property.
Mr. Xavier Veradale, Senior Legal Counsellor of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has attended the event. He introduced a presentation on balanced approach to enforcement of intellectual property rights and importance of raising respect towards intellectual property.
It has to be noted that workbook of WIPO for law enforcing authorities and prosecutors – “criminal prosecution and investigation of the crime in the intellectual property field” was translated to Georgian and issued by “Sakpatenti” especially for the workshop. Workbook describes key elements of counterfeiting trademarks and law violations related to copyright piracy and gives the analysis for successful managing of criminal prosecution.
Representatives of the Investigation Service, Customs Service, Prosecutor’s office, Court and “Sakpatenti” as well as experts of the field from Estonia, Moldova, Great Britain and Georgia have attended the workshop.