Georgia to host Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications

The Georgian PM on Tuesday met with the head of the country’s National Intellectual Property Centre. Photo: Government press office 

Agenda.ge, 28 Feb 2023 - 13:04, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia will host the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications in June, Soso Giorgadze, the head of the country’s National Intellectual Property Centre, said on Tuesday.

Set to run as a forum for “exchanging ideas and perspectives on issues relating to the use and protection of geographical indications”, the event will bring international experts from academia, state institutions, non-governmental actors and more in its latest edition.

The biannual forum hosts discussions on geographical indications, their protection and impact, as well as their relation to trade, sustainability and other questions.

Giorgadze on Tuesday met Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to review the hosting of the Symposium, while also discussing his office’s work on protecting Georgia’s geographical indications.

He noted the Centre had signed an agreement with Moldova earlier this month to protect the indications of the two countries from misuse, imitation or other actions that could mislead consumers over the true origins of relevant products.

He also said the deals had been struck with several countries to directly register Georgia’s geographical indications, with talks ongoing with other states. 

In discussion on other topics, the official cited “effective steps” being taken for copyright protection, and noted his agency was working on a bill with the Parliament's Culture Committee to ensure protection of legal rights of owners of intellectual property. 

Giorgadze added an auditing company had also been selected to study questions of management of authors' property rights by a “collective” domestic organisation. 

The Centre has also launched a paid intern programme and recruited students from domestic universities with the aim of producing qualified personnel, he also told the PM.