NCIP summed up the results of 2020

28 january 2021

Interesting

On January 27, 2021, a final meeting of the staff of the National Center of Intellectual Property (NCIP) was held in a hybrid format.

Director General Uladzimir Rabavolau, First Deputy Director General Aliaksei Kurman, Deputy Directors General Anzhela Plionkina and Alexander Zayats, Chairman of the primary trade union organization of NCIP Svetlana Volk delivered welcoming addresses and reports on the NCIP results.

The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Legal and Personnel Work Department of the State Committee on Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus Anna Zayats.

The management staff covered the results of NCIP work in 2020 in all areas, and paid attention to some strategic aspects of development and improvement of NCIP activities as an organization authorized to create and implement state policy in the field of intellectual property (IP) rights protection.

Thus, analyzing the results of the year, the multidimensional and richness of activities to improve the national IP system and its impact on the country's innovative development were noted.

It should be noted that Belarus improved its rating in the Global Innovation Index in 2020 by 8 positions and took 64th place.

National legislation has been significantly improved. During this period, the following documents were drafted: 39 draft regulatory legal acts (22 of which were adopted); 7 draft international treaties and inter-agency agreements (2 of which were signed).

The Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the Accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled” was signed.

A draft Strategy of the Republic of Belarus in the Intellectual Property Sphere for 2021-2030 has been prepared, and is now expected to be adopted by the Government in the near future.

In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the World Intellectual Property Organization, an IP Policy for Universities and Research Institutions of the Republic of Belarus has been developed.

Two memorandums between the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and the National Center of Intellectual Property were signed.

The economic side of IP is marked by the following positions:
a) a gradual increase by 29.3% (100.1 million US dollars) in the export of services concerning the use of IP objects; export of computer services by 18.3% (2,009.3 million US dollars);
b) an increase in the share of applicant’s activity in relation to the registration of trademarks and service marks (3,060 trademarks were registered, which is 20% more than in 2019), including those registered under the international procedure (an increase of 19%);
c) active work aimed at intensifying commercialization through the Intellectual Property Exchange (in 2020, 678 commercial offers for industrial property objects were placed on the Exchange (77% growth), more than 20 licensing agreements were concluded in relation to inventions);
d) steady growth rates of remuneration collection in such high-tech sectors as IP television (183.7%) and Internet (202.6%).

The work focused on creating a network of technology and innovation support centers continued. By the end of 2020, 9 such centers have been created.

Key strategic objectives for 2021 in the IP field include:
accession of the Republic of Belarus to the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention of September 9, 1994;
creating conditions for mediation in the IP field;
preparation of science-based proposals on the creation and development of a regulatory legal framework in the field of inventive, engineering and technical creativity, as well as proposals on improving IP legislation, including feasibility of its systematization (codification);
organization and holding of an annual scientific and practical conference on topical issues in the IP field in the Republic of Belarus.

More detailed information on the activities of NCIP in 2020 will be shortly posted on the official website of the organization in the section “Annual reports of the National Center of Intellectual Property”.