The Regional Seminar on Geographical Indications was held on 24-25 November 2022, in Antalya, Turkey. The event was organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) together with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TURKPATENT), the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti) and the Intellectual Property Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (COPAT) and others local partners.

Representatives of the public and private sector from Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, France, Italy, Hungary, Serbia, Republic of Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan participated in the seminar as rapporteurs.

The event was opened by Cemil Bașpinar, President of the TÜRKPATENT office, who in his speech drew attention to the importance of geographical indications and the efforts made to raise the geographical indication potential both at the national and international level.

Habip Asan, Director of WIPO Transition and Developed Countries Department, emphasized the importance of intellectual property, noting that it is a lever in economic development for companies and countries.

After the opening speeches, 25 GI registration certificates recently registered in Turkey were presented.

Several topics were addressed during the seminar, such as the protection of geographical indications in a globalized world, the role of producer associations, the importance of control and quality schemes, including the participating countries sharing their experiences, success stories, etc.

At the event, the Republic of Moldova was represented by Victoria Pulbere, Deputy Head of the Trademarks and Industrial Design Department, who presented the country’s experience regarding the geographical indications system.

Also within the event, the Exhibition on Regional Geographical Indications was organized. Georgia, Azerbaijan and 8 provinces of Turkey exhibited their registered products with geographical indications.