Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with Soso Giorgadze, Chair of the National Intellectual Property Center (SAKPATENTI).

At the meeting held at the Government Administration, the Chair of SAKPATENTI briefed the PM on the organization’s impllemented projects and plans for the future.

As Soso Giorgadze pointed out, SAKPATENTI is working toward the protection of Georgian geographic indications and appellations abroad. In this direction, a mutual recognition agreement has been signed between Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, and direct registration of intellectual property objects has been and continues to be carried out in several countries.

According to the SAKPATENTI Chair, in order to attract and train qualified human resources, a paid internship program was launched. Some interns have been already accepted from various universities, while the relevant competition is underway.

As Soso Giorgadze emphasized, effective steps have been taken toward the protection of Georgia’s copyrights and neighboring rights. In this direction, work with the Parliamentary Culture Committee on the relevant bill continues.

In addition, the organization selected an auditing company through a tender competition to study property rights management by collective management organizations operating in Georgia.

Also, Georgia has obtained the right to hold the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications, which will be held in Tbilisi this coming June.