On March 15 and 16, Mr. Pedro Roffe, an independent consultant hired by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), will visit the Institute to analyze the impact of the actions carried out by the international organization in the implementation of the recommendations of the Development Agenda.
Roffe is part of a team of consultants that conducted similar missions in Thailand, Egypt, Ethiopia and Moldova, with the purpose of reviewing the implementation of the aforementioned recommendations and the level of impact, efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the activities carried out.
During the meeting, the President of INPI stated: "the actions undertaken by WIPO in the area of technical assistance and training, in compliance with the recommendations of the Development Agenda, have had a certain impact in developing countries. However, there has not been a substantial transformation of the institution itself in response to them.
Development issues related to industrial and intellectual property have been confined to the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property itself, so it is necessary to return to the original purpose of the proposals made by Argentina and Brazil in 2004. Among the achievements of the Agenda, it is necessary to highlight the implementation of education and training programs, reaching developing countries, least developed countries and countries with economies in transition. In this regard, during 2014, WIPO awarded approximately 100 scholarships to facilitate the access of beneficiaries from developing countries to university courses and degrees specialized in IP.
As regards our country, the INPI, together with the Universidad Austral and with the support of WIPO, carries out the Regional Master's Degree in Intellectual Property. During its 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions, 46 scholarships were awarded to young Latin Americans to attend the course.
Also, three editions of the Training Seminar for IP Trainers were held (2013, 2014 and 2015), in which more than 150 professionals were trained. In addition, one of the programs created within the framework of the WIPO Development Committee was Diseñar, developed and implemented in Argentina as a pilot phase. Under this program, 42 design-related SMEs in Argentina were offered consulting services to generate a comprehensive business plan that included intellectual property.
After a rich exchange of ideas, it was concluded that there is currently a need for a renewed commitment on the part of developing countries to revive the initiative.
Background
Argentina is one of the proponents of the Development Agenda and, together with Brazil, presented the first proposal for the creation of a WIPO Development Agenda at the 2004 General Assembly (GA), which was supported by 13 other developing countries. Among the arguments put forward in support of the proposal were: "Intellectual property protection is a policy instrument that in practice can generate variable benefits and costs depending on the level of development of each country.
Hence, measures need to be taken in all countries to ensure that the costs do not outweigh the benefits offered by intellectual property protection."
Source: INPI Argentina
