Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) paid an official visit to BiH
Mostar, March 16, 2018 - Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Francis Gurry paid an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, 14th and Thursday, 15th of March 2018, and on that occasion met in Sarajevo with the highest officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina and held a lecture on the topic "Role of Intellectual Property in Modern Economy" at the Amphitheatre of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo.
On the first day of the visit, General Director Gurry met with BiH Presidency member Bakir Izetbegović in the BiH Presidency building and the vice-chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović in his office.
BiH Presidency Member Izetbegović expressed his support for the work of the organization at the meeting with the WIPO General Director and also expressed the expectation that the World Intellectual Property Organization will continue to cooperate with the BiH Institute for Intellectual Property in the field of regulation and protection of rights and through the assistance in building IT connections to ensure the availability and the exchange of information in the field of intellectual property.
The Director General of WIPO expressed his appreciation for the reception and stressed that this organization will continue to help Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the meeting with the BiH Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Mirko Šarović emphasis was on the protection of autochthonous products and strengthening the system of fight against intellectual property rights infringements. It was assessed that BiH continues to improve this area, and Minister Šarović announced that Strategy for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights will soon be presented to the Council of Ministers, objective of which is strengthening the system of combating intellectual property rights infringements and import of counterfeit goods, strengthening market controls and inspections.
On the second day of the visit, WIPO General Director met with the leadership of the House of Peoples and the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, Ognjen Tadić, Safet Softić, Šefik Džaferović and Mladen Bosić.
During the talks, it was emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a very good legal framework for the protection of intellectual property and that it had timely accepted and sought to apply all international regulations, but also there are continuous efforts to keep the pace as it is an area from which in large extent depends country's economic progress.
At the meeting with the Director of the BiH Institute for Intellectual Property Josip Merdžo and the Institute's leadership, General Director Gurry expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between WIPO and the Institute and added that he was pleased to continue building this excellent relationship reflected in a range of activities, including technical assistance, capacity building and human resources development.
He also expressed WIPO's readiness to provide advice to universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the development of intellectual property policy, the establishment of technology transfer bureaus and to assist the country in the development of human resources in the field of intellectual property and innovation through various education and training programs.
In his lecture on "The Role of Intellectual Property in Modern Economy" held in the Amphitheatre of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Sarajevo, General Director Gurry emphasized that intellectual property protection encourages investment, research and development, and certainly innovation, as it provides a chance to achieve direct benefits on the market.
Lecture at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering completed the official visit of the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Francis Gurry to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was also the first visit of the head of WIPO to our country.
