UK and the World Intellectual Property Office agree to enhance cooperation for development
The agreement signed by the UK IPO Chief Executive, John Alty and WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry commits the UK IPO to assisting with …
The agreement signed by the UK IPO Chief Executive, John Alty and WIPO Director General, Francis Gurry commits the UK IPO to assisting with a number of WIPO’s projects and events. The organisations also agreed to work together to coordinate their activities to ensure maximum benefit for all concerned.
John Alty, IPO Chief Executive said “I am very pleased to be signing this agreement with WIPO today, which reinforces and renews our commitment to work together in providing assistance and cooperation.”
Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General welcomed the UK Government’s support, noting “We look forward to working closely with the UKIPO in promoting the use of intellectual property in developing and least developed countries and ensuring that all countries benefit from the global knowledge economy.”
The agreement comes into force immediately and will be reviewed after two years.
**Notes to editors
**1. The UK IPO leads on intellectual property policy for the United Kingdom, whilst also providing rights granting and advisory services.
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WIPO is the UN agency responsible for the global IP system and international IP negotiations.
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The Joint Statement sets out that the UK will contribute to six WIPO meetings, events or projects over a two year period. In turn, WIPO commit to work with the UK to plan and arrange these contributions in advance.
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The Joint Statement has been signed today as part of the meeting of the WIPO General Assemblies in Geneva, where John Alty is representing the UK.
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For media queries, please contact Veena Mapara on 0207 215 5614.
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For emergency media calls out-of-hours please contact the duty press officer at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on +44 (0) 207 215 3505.
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The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is within the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
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The IPO’s role is to help manage an IP system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy.
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The IPO operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to Intellectual Property (IP) to which the United Kingdom is a party.
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The Government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries.’ It set four ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011:
a. To create the most competitive tax system in the G20
b. To make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
c. To encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
d. To create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe.
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Work is underway across Government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the Government wants the economy to travel.
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BIS’s online newsroom contains the latest press notices and speeches, as well as video and images for download. It also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Notes to Editors
Contact Information
Name BIS Press Office Job Title
Division Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Phone
Fax
Mobile
Email bispress.releases@bis.gsi.gov.uk
Name Veena Mapara Job Title
Division Department for Business, Innovation & Skills Phone 020 7215 5614 Fax
Mobile