Press Release

[Index]

Intellectual Property Rights in Economies in Transition

Palais des Nations (Conference Room V), 25-27 July 2007, 10:00-18:00

Geneva, 24 July 2007 -- On 25-27 July 2007 the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is hosting in Geneva an International Conference on “Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Transforming Research and Development Outputs into Intangible Assets in Economies in Transition”, followed by the annual meeting of the UNECE Team of Specialists on Intellectual Property.

Experts from national IP offices and ministries, international organizations, research institutions and the business community will meet to discuss good practices and policies in intellectual property commercialization, and protection and rights enforcement in the UNECE region, with a special focus on countries with economies in transition.

A well-designed intellectual property regime increases national wealth and benefits consumers by stimulating research and investment into new technologies and innovative products, and by enabling the transfer of technology, including between countries at different stages of economic development. Innovative industries are key drivers of economic growth and key providers of well-paying jobs, thus contributing to the achievement of broad development objectives.

However, these benefits are not automatic. Inadequate legal, regulatory and policy frameworks underpinning IP can hold back economic development. They can undermine the incentives to invest in research and development, impede the diffusion of technology, contribute to economic losses from IP-related crime, and add to public health and safety hazards from unsafe counterfeit goods.

Getting the framework conditions right can be challenging. The conference and Team meeting will bring together representatives of all stakeholder groups from throughout the UNECE region to exchange experiences and to discuss what works and what doesn’t. The results will feed into future capacity-building activities.

For more information, please contact:

Ralph Heinrich or Tony Bonnici
Economic Cooperation and Integration Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 1269 / 2246
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0178
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/ceci/ip.html