Designing a Dynamic IP System in the Republic of Belarus Mrs. Anzhela Plionkina, Deputy Director General National Center of Intellectual Property of Belarus WIPO, Geneva, April 8, 2016

Republic of Belarus Independent state on the world political map since 1991 Located in the heart of Europe. It shares borders with Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Population — ~ 9,5 million people. Area — 207 600 км². Unitary Presidential Republic. Belarus consists of 6 Regions. Capital — Minsk.

Historical Background of the National Intellectual Property (IP) One of the main condition of the establishment of the State in 1991 was the formation of national IP system, including appropriate infrastructure and legislation Initial goals and challenges : Creating an IP system in conditions of limited material and human resources Formation of new (unknown or unconventional) IP Institutions Transition from “inventors’ certificates” to the regime of the exclusive rights Integration into the global IP system

Setting-Up of Governmental Bodies 1992 – establishment of the Patent Office and the State Committee on Copyright and Related Rights under the Council of Ministers 2001 – establishment of the National Center of Intellectual Property 2001 – establishment of the State Committee on Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus (SCST) – supervising republican body in IP sphere

Formation of IP infrastructure 1993 – Institution of Patent Attorneys 1995 – Board of Appeals under the Patent Office 1995 – Republican Scientific-Technical Library - depository of patent data 2000 – Judicial Board on the Cases of Intellectual Property of the Supreme Court –1st specialized court in IP sphere among CIS countries.

Modern IP infrastructure 6 Modern IP infrastructure State Committee on Science and Technology (SCST) National Center of Intellectual Property Judicial Board on the Cases of Intellectual Property of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus Republican Scientific-Technical Library Patent Attorneys, Lawyers Intellectual Property Appraisers Belarusian Society of Inventors and Innovators

Adoption of IP Laws 1993 Inventions, Industrial Designs, Trademarks 1995 Plant Varieties 1996 Copyright and Related Rights 1997 Utility Models 1998 Integrated Circuits 2002 Geographical Indications February 1993

International Agreements and Treaties 16 international agreements and treaties administered by WIPO, including: Paris Convention(1883); Madrid Agreement (1891) and the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement (1989); PCT (1970); Berne Convention (1971, 1979); Rome Convention (1961); WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996); WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (1996); Singapore Treaty (2006) Eurasian Patent Convention (1994) Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (2014)

Strong IP system High standards of IP protection Wide range of IP rights Non-discrimination Balance of interests of all participants Challenges on the formation stage of the national IP system : limited resources of the transition economy lack of understanding and inability of society to enjoy the benefits of the IP system low level of enforcement of intellectual property rights

National Center of Intellectual Property www.belgospatent.org.by 10 National Center of Intellectual Property Development and implementation of the state policy in IP sphere; Patent Office; Collective management; Information and publishing activity; Training programs of specialists in IP sphere; International cooperation; Assistance to the activity of creative unions and other public organizations

How to build a dynamic IP system? IP system should serve the goals of economic, social and cultural development of society IP system should contain an internal mechanism for development (be self-sustaining) Available resources involvement and a clear action plan

Forming the State Policy in IP Sphere Development Concept of Intellectual Property Protection System of the Republic of Belarus for 2004 – 2005 State Program of Intellectual Property Protection of the Republic of Belarus for 2004 – 2006 State Program of Intellectual Property Protection for 2008 – 2010 Strategy of the Republic of Belarus in the Sphere of Intellectual Property for 2012 – 2020

Implemented State Policy IP Projects for 2004 – 2010 Contests “Best Organization of Inventive Activity and IP Management” and “Best Organization in the Field of Copyright and Related Rights” 2006 – 2007 –course at universities "Basics of IP Management” Competition of student works in IP sphere Consulting and methodological points in IP sphere in Minsk and Regional cities Patent information and educational-methodical services Project “Intellectual Property Exchange” 17 IP guidelines, scientific and practical journal “Intellectual Property in Belarus”, official website of IP Office

Strategy of the Republic of Belarus in the Sphere of Intellectual Property for 2012-2020 Goal - improving on the basis of IP the national economy competitiveness Responsible bodies: republican and regional authorities, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Methodological Guide - SCCT Funding - means of the republican and local budgets and off-budget funds. Priority arrangements on implementation of the Strategy are developed for biennium

Main Directions of the Strategy 15 Main Directions of the Strategy improvement of legislation; infrastructure development; development of functional areas in IP sphere (protection, assessment and etc.); improvement of IP management on sectoral and regional levels; development of national branding on IP basis; development of tools to stimulate the creation and exploitation of IP; development of mechanisms for lawful access to science, literature and art to achieve sustainable development; improvement of enforcement policy in respect of violations in IP sphere; raising the value of IP to create new jobs and production of competitive products.

Ongoing Projects Accession to new international agreements and treaties Improvement of the national legislation on trademarks and patents Optimization of terms and procedures for consideration of applications for industrial property objects Development and implementation of sectoral and regional IP policy Improvement of service points for protection and management of IP in enterprises Development of IP commercialization infrastructure Interaction of research organizations with industry organizations and SMEs Development of education and scientific research in IP sphere Dissemination of knowledge on IP and its importance for the socio-economic development

Contemporary Goals and Challenges Necessity of the status change of IP Offices in the innovation economy National IP system should be used by society as a mechanism for economic, social and cultural development IP system should not damage interests of society Necessity of integration of the national IP system into the Eurasian regional IP system without prejudice to national interests

Thank you!