On December 16, 2024, a meeting was held at the Intellectual Property Agency with Habip Asan, Director of Division for Transition and Developed Countries of the Regional and National Development Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Opening the meeting with an introductory speech, Chairman of the Board of the Intellectual Property Agency Kamran Imanov expressed his gratitude to Habip Asan, Director of Division for Transition and Developed Countries of the Regional and National Development Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization for accepting the invitation and coming to Azerbaijan.

Kamran Imanov provided information on the achievements of the intellectual property system in Azerbaijan and the challenges ahead. K. Imanov made a presentation on the activities of the Intellectual Property Agency. The presentation noted that the challenges facing the intellectual property management system of Azerbaijan are reflected in strategic documents. These documents indicate the need to support and develop a creative economy dominated by intellectual property, strengthen cooperation between creative entrepreneurs and specialists with modern digital technologies, as well as improve the quality of professional training.

The head of the agency said that by establishing an intellectual property ecosystem, the impact of reforms in our country related to intellectual property and the changed and re-perceived contextual factors of intellectual property were taken into account.

"The tasks facing intellectual property have been shaped by the economic reform policy pursued by our head of state regarding innovative development. Thus, intellectual property should adequately serve the impact and innovative development of this policy, become a real actor in attracting investments and supporting innovations, and take its place among the leading factors of socio-economic success, from an abstract service in itself," K. Imanov noted.

The head of the Agency said that the overall structure was optimized taking into account transaction costs. He noted that the final product of the Agency's activities is the issuance of legally significant decisions to support the status of protected objects or the extension of their protection term for the results of intellectual activity (industrial property), as well as the results of intellectual activity protected by law (copyright). The final product of the Agency also includes the analysis of the economic impact and determination of the socio-cultural effect of intellectual property rights protection documents and accepted indicators.

K. Imanov also noted that the share of the creative industry in GDP in our country is 5.2 percent.

It was noted that the examination period for claims for intellectual property objects has been shortened by an average of 30-50 percent. Intellectual property departments have been established at Baku State University and Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, and their branches operate at the Intellectual Property Agency. The Agency's employees have been involved in the educational process.

It was noted that in order to support the creative activities of inventors and entrepreneurs in the field of patents, the acceptance of application documents for the registration of industrial property objects is carried out through the “Open Target for Patents, Trademarks” (PANAH) digital information system created at the Intellectual Property Agency. The PANAH digital system operates 24/7 and allows registration to be organized from anywhere and at any time.

Habip Asan said that relations between Azerbaijan and WIPO are at a high level. At the same time, he highlighted the possibility of further developing these relations and implementing new projects. The guest also positively assessed the activities of the Intellectual Property Agency in Azerbaijan and the fact that a single organization deals with intellectual property issues.

He said that the digitalization of processes at the Intellectual Property Agency is quite interesting. The Director highly appreciated the Agency's cooperation with universities, the creation of departments in terms of specialist training, and appreciated the Agency's idea of reducing transaction costs. He also said that he agreed with K. Imanov's idea of stricter protection of intellectual property rights. The WIPO department director highly appreciated the Azerbaijani model in intellectual property protection and stressed the importance of promoting this model. At the same time, he said that the Azerbaijani model is in line with the country's economic development and diversification of the economy.

The meeting discussed cooperation issues between the Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and WIPO.

Then, a meeting was held at the Agency with the heads of a number of universities. K. Imanov noted the achievements of Azerbaijani higher education institutions in innovation in recent years, as well as the reforms carried out in the education system of our country.

During the meeting, the WIPO Department Director spoke about the projects implemented by the organization he represents. He highly appreciated the cooperation of the Intellectual Property Agency with higher education institutions, as well as the presence of technology transfer centers at some universities in Azerbaijan. The Department Director said that the patent and design fields have developed extensively over the past 20 years, and shared his views on the opportunities for intellectual property to generate income.

An official of the international organization highlighted the teaching, research, intellectual property and innovation experience of universities in different countries in his speech. Habip Asan also highly appreciated Azerbaijan's National Priorities until 2030.

Then K. Imanov noted the need for commercialization of interesting scientific works and patents, and looked at critical points in this process. The head of the agency said that prior ownership of intellectual property should be clarified. The correct division should be made according to the results of intellectual property. According to him, countries with lower GDP per capita give preference to weaker protection of intellectual property rights, paving the way for imitations. However, with an increase in GDP per capita, the need for high-quality, legal products increases, production is stimulated, and this leads to an increase in the level of protection of intellectual property. Thus, an increase in GDP per capita increases the level of protection of intellectual property rights, even without the need for foreign direct investment. It has been noted that for countries with weak economies, they begin to protect intellectual property rights at a high level in order to attract foreign direct investment. Once they reach the richer and middle-income countries, the intellectual property protection regime weakens, leading to a wider use of imported technologies. However, once the technological frontier is reached, the protection of intellectual property rights is strengthened again.

The rector of the Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Professor Adalat Muradov, noted the importance of this meeting. He initially spoke about the possibility of selling patents, the importance of educating rights holders about this, and also stressed the importance of supporting scientists.

Rector of Baku State University Elchin Babayev emphasized the Agency's activities in the field of intellectual property training in the country. The rector also noted the university's activities in the field of innovations. He noted that innovative projects of BSU students were successful at "TEKNOFEST" in Turkey.

Rector of Karabakh University Shahin Bayramov stressed the importance of the event, noting that the issues discussed are relevant for society. He spoke about the challenges facing the university in the field of innovations, and noted that great attention is paid to improving the knowledge and skills of students.

The meeting continued with discussions. The rector of the Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction Gulchohra Mammadova, the rector of the Azerbaijan Technical University Vilayat Valiyev, the rector of the Baku Engineering University Yagub Piriyev, the vice-rector of the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University Latafat Gardashova, the rector of Sumgayit State University Rufat Azizov participated in the discussions. K. Imanov and H. Asan answered the questions of interest to the university rectors.

Ulker Sattarova, Director of the State Agency for Science and Higher Education under the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan also attended the meeting.