AZERBAIJAN

Statement of Mr. Kamran Imanov, Chairman of the Board, Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Dear Mr. President,

Dear Mr. Director General,

Distinguish colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen!

It is my great pleasure to welcome the participants of the Assembly on behalf of the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and to wish success in this forum. I also congratulate Mr. President on the election of the Chair of the WIPO General Assembly, and wish him success on your hardworking activity and thank you for the opportunity to make statement.

The decisive role in the success of the General Assembly is played by the coordinated work of the WIPO Secretariat, led by the respectable Dr. Francis Gurry. Based on my experience of communication and work with Mr. Gurry, I can say that his inherent professionalism, efficiency and the highest culture are the key to the success of many undertakings. The Delegation of Azerbaijan supports the efficient work of the WIPO Director General, contributing to the development of the international intellectual property system and promoting innovation, creativity and sustainable development.

The world, changing dynamically under the influence of technology, the global challenges have posed to national states the tasks of minimizing the consequences of global shifts and finding ways for sustainable development. Azerbaijan, seeking and finding ways of independent development, is now going through a new stage of reforms initiated by the country's leadership. Reforms appropriate to public demands affect all spheres of public life. The country is among the "top 10" reforming countries and ranks first in the number of reforms. According to “The Doing Business-2019” Report, Azerbaijan is 25th among 190 countries. Confident innovative development is also confirmed by the data of the World Economic Forum, where the country occupies 36th place in “IP Protection” sub-index, 22nd place in terms of legislative efficiency and 20th place in government activity oriented to the future.

The sphere of intellectual property, which resonant with innovative grounds of the reforms has undergone significant institutional and functional changes. The Intellectual Property Agency was created, the mandate of which extends to the field of both copyright and related rights, as well as the field of industrial property. The Republican Scientific and Technical Library was transferred to its jurisdiction, two Centers were created under the Agency: Patent and Trademarks Examination Center and Center for Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.

Extensive work is also underway to create and operate Technology Transfer and Commercialization Centers under the Agency, as well as Innovation Support Centers. Thus, as a result of the reforms, a peculiar managerial model was updated, combining a triune formula - Cognitivity-Creativity-Commercialization (3C).

An innovative way of development is impossible without the development of IP system, which promotes the involvement of investments and the protection of innovations, and the challenges facing the IP system are predetermined by the country's innovation policy and serve the country's economic reforms.

Measures have been developed to increase invention and patent activity; drafts of out-of-court methods for the settlement of disputes - mediations and their interaction with the Appeal Commissions have been prepared.

We are actively working on the creation of new digital services and information systems with the aim of accelerating and transparency of patent activity, as well as the development and application of new systems for protecting digital IP rights, including blockchain technology.

Our focus is on IP policies in scientific institutions, taking into account the creation of Universities 3.0 (Education + Research + Commercialization), stimulation of innovation among small and medium-sized enterprises, IP training centers, tax preferences for start-ups and spin-outs, promotion of national brands and, of course, digitalization of the Library. I would especially like to note that in the framework of the project on IP policy in universities and research institutions, we cooperate with WIPO, and in the creation of a digital national IP aggregator, with the countries of the European Union.

In conclusion, I wish you all productive work and thank you for your attention.