Intellectual property policymakers and experts to meet in Riga

The conference will bring together policymakers, opinion leaders and other intellectual property experts from all around the world, as well as Latvian entrepreneurs who care about protection of their intellectual property. Honorary guests invited by the Patent office of the Republic of Latvia, the main organiser of the event, include Dr. Francis Gurry, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and Dzintars Rasnačs, the Minister for Justice of the Republic of Latvia.

“In a time of rapid change and innovation, protection of new products and creations is becoming increasingly important to entrepreneurs and inventors, and far-sighted state policies in this field can increase the competitiveness of national businesses in the global economy.

Therefore we are pleased to welcome the world’s leading experts and policymakers to the conference Intellectual property and beyond where Latvian entrepreneurs, inventors and decision makers can gain inspiration from the best ones in the field and develop their competence in intellectual property protection,” says Sandris Laganovskis, director of the Patent Office.

Speakers at the conference will also include professionals from Latvia: Agris Ķipurs (AirDog), Jānis Ošlejs (Primekss), Ivars Kalviņš (Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis), Rūta Olmane (First Vice-President of the European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA)), Indra Jonāne-Oša (Grindeks).

Main topics:

• Trademark and Industrial Design Protection, moderator: Dace Liberte
• Development of the European Patent System, moderators: Māra Rozenblate and Guntis Ramāns
• The Impact of Innovation Protection on Economic Growth, moderator: Anselm Kamperman Sanders
• Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement, moderator: Ingrīda Kariņa-Bērziņa

Honoured guests of the conference:

• Dzintars Rasnačs, the Minister for Justice of the Republic of Latvia
• Dace Melbārde, the Minister for Culture of the Republic of Latvia
• Dr. Francis Gurry, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
• Christian Archambeau, the Vice-President of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)

The conference "Intellectual property and Beyond" will be held by the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia as an official event of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Live video streaming from both conference days will be available on the website of the Patent Office and on the Latvian Presidency website. Live news will also be published on the Patent Office’s twitter account @patbib.