In a year that saw a record number of filings under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the cornerstone of the international patent system, inventors from the Republic of Korea (4th place) and China (7th) consolidated their top ten position in 2007, along with the United States of America (1st) , Japan (2nd), Germany (3rd), France (5th), United Kingdom (6th), Netherlands (8th), Switzerland (9th) and Sweden (10th). In total, a record 156,100 applications were filed in 2007, representing a 4.7% rate of growth over the previous year. For the fourth year running, the most notable growth rates came from countries in north east Asia which accounted for over a quarter (25.8%) of all international applications under the PCT.
Fifteen candidatures for the post of Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were received by 5 p.m. (Geneva time) on February 13, 2008, the deadline fixed for the submission of names. The WIPO Coordination Committee, which is composed of 83 member states, will meet on May 13 and 14, 2008 to nominate a candidate for appointment to this position by the WIPO General Assembly, which is scheduled from September 22 to 30, 2008.
Two contracts relating to the construction of a new administrative building to extend the premises of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) headquarters in Geneva, were signed on Friday, February 8, 2008, with the Swiss firm Implenia Entreprise Générale SA, as general contractor, and a syndicate of two banks: Banque Cantonale de Genève and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, for part of the project’s financing. The construction of the new administrative building, comprising 560 work places, will start along the Route de Ferney in early April 2008.
Top government officials, business leaders and senior law enforcement authorities today urged national and international political leaders to engage in the battle against counterfeiting and piracy. The call for increased action came at the close of the Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy held in Dubai from 3-5 February 2008. The international event brought together over 1,200 delegates from 90 countries and was held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai. The event was hosted by Dubai Customs and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
More than 500 senior decision-makers from 70 countries convened today in Dubai to identify solutions to the escalating global problem of product counterfeiting and piracy of intellectual property and to put an end to the damaging effects it is having on consumer health and safety, government resources and revenues, innovation and foreign investment.
The Fourth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy will meet in Dubai from February 3-5, 2008 under the auspices of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai. Senior officials from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and representatives of other international intergovernmental organizations, governments, regional and national enforcement agencies and business will attend the Congress to identify solutions to the escalating problems of counterfeiting and piracy. This is the first time the Global Congress is being held outside Europe.
