WIPO Director General Daren Tang visited Athens on June 12, 2025 for bilateral talks on use of intellectual property (IP) to strengthen Greece’s innovation ecosystem. Discussions also focused on support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition, the Director General spoke at the International IP Enforcement Summit 2025.
Athens Engagements
- Opened the International IP Enforcement Summit 2025 which brought together over 350 participants and 50 speakers to address the challenges of IP protection in the digital age. The Director General spoke alongside key Greek and European leaders, including Deputy Minister of Development Lazaros Tsavdaridis, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) João Negrão, the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs at the European Union Kerstin Jorna, and Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs Ilhan Kyuchyuk.
- Met with Minister of Rural Development and Food Konstantínos Tsiáras to discuss the importance of boosting rural prosperity through a project for Kalamata olive producers and supporting SMEs and creators to thrive in the digital economy.
- Held bilateral talks with Mr. Tsavdaridis to discuss the strengths of Greece’s innovation ecosystem and the importance of tailored IP support for startups, SMEs and innovation hubs with a focus on WIPO’s toolbox for the support of SMEs, including the IP Diagnostic Tool and IP Management Clinics.
- Engaged with Secretary General for International Economic Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Enterprise Greece Dimitris Skalkos on scaling Greece’s IP potential across global markets. The discussion emphasized inclusive innovation, SME empowerment and raising awareness of IP’s strategic value.
- Met with Acting Director of the Hellenic Copyright Organization Maria-Daphne Papadopoulou to discuss digital transformation, copyright enforcement and the interface between artificial intelligence (AI) and copyright.
- Held discussions with Director General of OBI Panagiotis Kanellopoulos on modernizing Greece’s IP ecosystem in response to digital disruption and frontier technologies. Topics included commercialization of IP, enhanced startup support and collaborative capacity-building.
- Met with representatives of six Greek startups, hosted by OBI, for an exchange on the commercialization of innovation and the tools provided by WIPO to support IP management. The startups - ranging from biotech and AI to sustainable materials and deep-tech - shared their experiences and called for more accessible, practical IP support.