The delegation of Rospatent, on behalf of the Russian Federation, took an active part in the 30th session of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) held on April 24-28, 2023, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The meeting was timed to coincide with World Intellectual Property Day, celebrated annually on April 26. In 2023, this day was dedicated to the contribution of women to inventive, innovative and creative activities, and was held under the motto "Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity".

In its statement, the delegation of Rospatent congratulated colleagues on their professional holiday and noted that the ingenuity and hard work of women largely determine the trends in science, technology and entrepreneurship in today's world. Furthermore, the representatives of the Office emphasized that at the end of last year, Russia adopted the 2023-2030 National Action Strategy for Women aimed at ensuring equal rights and freedoms for men and women and creating the same opportunities for their execution.

At the session, the WIPO Member States approved the Terms of Reference for an Independent External Review of WIPO's Technical Assistance in the Area of Cooperation for Development, Project Proposal Submitted by Kenya on the Development of Strategies and Tools to Address Online Copyright Piracy in the African Digital Market, Pilot Project Submitted by the African Group on Text and Data Mining to Support Research and Innovation in Universities and Other Research-Oriented Institutions in Africa, and Project Proposal Submitted by the USA, the Republic of Korea and Canada on Empowering Youth (K-12) to Innovate for a Better Future.

Moreover, the session participants considered the WIPO Director General's Report on the Implementation of the Development Agenda (DA), the Report on the Organization's Contribution to the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its Associated Targets, the Review of the WIPO's Internal and External Activities and the Strategic Direction Related to Gender Equality, and several reports on the completion and subsequent evaluation of projects focused on enhancing the role of women in innovation and entrepreneurship, intellectual property (IP) and gastronomic tourism.

The delegation of Rospatent emphasized the crucial importance of education and awareness raising, in particular, the development of skills and knowledge as part of the training personnel specialized in IP. In addition, the Russian representatives noted that intangible assets and innovations play a key role in achieving the SDGs, while the issue of digital transformation and bridging the digital divide is still relevant. Digital product markets create opportunities that accelerate economic development and open new growth opportunities for regional and national trade. At the same time, this rapid development is accompanied by IP infringements preventing the right holders from taking full advantage of the digital economy advantages.

Furthermore, the WIPO International Conference on Development and IP, entitled "IP and Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture" took place on the sidelines of the session. Such conferences focusing on various topics are organized at the CDIP sessions every two years.

Background information:

In 2007, the WIPO General Assembly adopted 45 DA Recommendations, grouped into six following clusters:

- Cluster A: Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

- Cluster B: Norm-setting, flexibilities, public policy and public domain

- Cluster C: Technology Transfer, Information and Communication Technologies and Access to Knowledge

- Cluster D: Assessment, Evaluation and Impact Studies

- Cluster E: Institutional Matters including Mandate and Governance

- Cluster F: Other Issues

For more information on the DA for WIPO, please click here.

The SDGs are a set of interconnected objectives developed in 2015 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly as a "shaped blueprint for a better and more sustainable future for all". The SDGs replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approved in 2000.

The final document of the UN General Assembly titled "Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" contains 17 global goals and 169 corresponding targets. For more information about the SDGs, please follow the link.