Technology Transfer in Brazil, Business Community Capacity Building in Jordan,
Judicial Capacity Building in the Philippines and legal harmonization toward a
Regional Caribbean patent and trademark office included
Washington, DC The International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI), an intellectual property development organization and think tank, announced the funding of more than $1 million in activities for their intellectual property technical assistance programs and policy and education forums. In conjunction with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), IIPI will proceed with nine primary projects during 2004 and 2005.
“With support from the USPTO, IIPI can continue development projects begun last year in developing nations like Brazil, Jordan and the Caribbean CARICOM member states,” says IIPI Chairman Bruce A. Lehman. “The funding also enables us to undertake several new and exciting projects designed to help people in developing nations understand the power of intellectual property as a mechanism to stimulate development, promote cultural expression and improve health.”
The list of IIPI-USPTO cooperative agreement projects includes:
* Promoting greater awareness and appreciation within Brazil for creating an environment and legal framework for stronger IP protection by providing technical assistance to universities and federal laboratories and organizing workshops and study missions.
* Conducting several capacity-building seminars in Jordan and providing technical support to the intellectual property agencies of the Government of Jordan.
* Providing technical assistance to the CARICOM Secretariat and member states in harmonizing the regional IP laws and judicial systems and creating the institutions necessary for establishing a single regional administration for patent, trademark and copyright.
* Organizing a series of workshops in West Africa on the importance of promoting, protecting, and enforcing intellectual property rights.
* Organizing seminars on intellectual property rights capacity-building for both the judiciary and the business community in Central America, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
* Promoting the enforcement of IPR in the Philippines through conducting a capacity-building program focused on judicial and prosecutorial education.
* Conducting a series of capacity-building seminars and regional border enforcement workshops to assist countries of the Former Soviet Union in focusing on realistic and mutually beneficial intellectual property rights reforms.
“Intellectual property rights are increasingly important in the contexts of economic development, health and trade negotiations,” notes executive director Stetson Sanders. “These projects will allow us to support progressive intellectual property policies in all of those contexts in important countries around the world.”
The IIPI-USPTO cooperative projects will begin immediately, with the first technical assistance programs scheduled for September. The IIPI and the USPTO have cooperated on joint technical assistance programs since 2002, under support from the United States Congress.