The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Dr. Francis Gurry commended Sri Lanka on the progress achieved in several important areas of protection and promotion of Intellectual Property during his meeting with the delegation of Sri Lanka attending the 58th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of WIPO from 24 September to 2 October 2018.
Mrs. Geethanjali Ranawaka, Director General of the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO) of Sri Lanka, accompanied by Deputy Permanent Representative Mrs. Samantha Jayasuriya and Minister Counsellor Ms. Shashika Somaratne of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva held discussions with WIPO Director General on 1 October 2018. Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific of WIPO Mr. Andrew Ong was present.
The Director General of NIPO briefed Dr. Gurry on the state of progress with regard to Sri Lanka's accession to the Madrid Protocol, stressing that Sri Lanka looked forward to joining WIPO’s Madrid System as an important additional tool for protection of Intellectual Property, at a time when the number of innovations in Sri Lanka were on the rise. It was further explained that the draft enabling legislation, following its finalization and approval by the Cabinet of Ministers, would be presented to the Parliament of Sri Lanka next year.
The Delegation of Sri Lanka informed WIPO regarding the progress achieved on implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or otherwise Print Disabled. The Delegation stated that implementation continued in consultation with the stakeholders following Sri Lanka's accession to the Treaty in 2016.
Acknowledging the technical assistance and expertise of WIPO in providing required training and capacity building during this process, the Sri Lanka Delegation conveyed its sincere appreciation to Dr. Gurry and his team at WIPO for the consistent support and cooperation extended. Further opportunities for training and capacity building of the officials in NIPO were discussed.
Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka
Geneva
5 October 2018
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