On 14 October, in Geneva, there were completed the 55th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The event was held from 5 to 14 October, 2015.

During 10 days, the representatives of the WIPO’s 188 Member States approved the WIPO’s Program and Budget for the 2016-2017 biennium and made notable progress on several topics of interest for the Organization. Thus, according to the consolidated working agenda of the annual assembly, delegations of the Member States:

• Agreed on the renewal of the mandate of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (the IGC) for the 2016-2017 biennium, as well as the work plan for the IGC for the biennium. According to the mandate agreed upon, the IGC will continue to expedite its work, including text-based negotiations, with the objective of reaching an agreement on an international legal instrument(s) relating to intellectual property which will ensure the balanced and effective protection of genetic resources (GRs), traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs). The mandate also notes that studies, seminars and workshops may complement the Committee’s work. The General Assembly in 2017 will take stock of progress made, and decide on whether to convene a diplomatic conference or continue negotiations;
• Adopted guiding principles on the opening of any future WIPO external offices, with a maximum of three new offices during each of the 2016/17 and 2018/19 biennia and priority given to Africa as a host during those periods;
• Agreed to convene a diplomatic conference for the adoption of a design law treaty to develop simplified standards for industrial design registration procedures in the first half of 2017 subject to the completion at the 34th and 35th sessions of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) of discussions on technical assistance and a possible disclosure requirement aiming at the protection of traditional assets from misappropriation;
• Adopted a number of amendments to the PCT Regulations to provide greater accessibility and flexibility for applicants and also to facilitate the sharing of results of work performed by Offices; as well as to the Common Regulations of the Madrid System intended to make the Madrid System more user-friendly, while noting the final report on the Information Technology Modernization Program, as well as the progress made in the last year in respect of the Madrid Goods and Services Database;
• Approved the financial and audit statements,; the revised policy on investments and the policy related to the Reserves (net assets) of the Organization; the mandate of the WIPO Independent Advisory Oversight Committee, etc.

Also during the meeting, Member States took note of the decision of the Lisbon Union Assembly and of the reports of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights, the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents, the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, WIPO Coordination Committee, etc.

“The Assemblies produced a rich array of positive results as a consequence of the extraordinary engagement of the member states,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry at the closing of the meeting.

Moldova was represented in the General Assembly of WIPO by the Director General of the State Agency on Intellectual Property Octavian Apostol, H.E. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova in the Swiss Confederation, Permanent Representative of the Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the UN Office Victor Moraru, Deputy Director General of AGEPI Svetlana Munteanu, First Secretary of the Mission of the Republic of Moldova to the UN Office Igor Moldovan, President of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council Dinu Ciocan and the member of the Broadcasting Coordinating Council Nicolae Damaschin.

During the meeting, the Moldovan delegation had bilateral meetings with the Director General of WIPO, Francis Gurry, with the Deputy Secretary General of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Peter Button, with the President of the European Patent Organization (EPO) Benoit Battistelli and with the delegation of the National Intellectual Property Centre of Georgia (SAKPATENTI), during which were discussed the current state of bilateral cooperation and the priorities of this cooperation for the next period.

Chair of the current Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of WIPO was the Colombia’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization, Y.E. Ambassador Gabriel Duque.

At the same time, during the current meeting, at the headquarters of WIPO was conducted an extensive program of cultural activities organized by the Kingdom of Thailand, the Czech Republic, Spain, India, Slovenia, Georgia and the Republic of Korea.

WIPO press release can be accessed at: http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2015/article_0013.html.