WIPO/UNITAR Seminar on Intellectual Property

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Date: Tuesday and Wednesday, 23-24 February 2010

Venue: WIPO Coordination Office at United Nations, New York (Two UN Plaza, Suite 2525)

Objective

Defined as "the legal rights which result from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields”, intellectual property is an integral part of economic development and interactions in modern society. In order to promote creativity and dissemination and application of its results, countries have enacted laws to protect intellectual property. While these laws guard the creators of intellectual goods and services, they also manifest the gap between developed and developing countries in terms of access to critical technologies and resources. Particularly with the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property, intellectual property has become a flashpoint in many bilateral relations.

Spanning two days, the seminar will examine:

Basic principles of intellectual property, specifically patents, trademarks and copyrights;
Mandates and functions of WIPO;
Global challenges and intellectual property, including climate change, food security, development, public health and traditional knowledge.

Organization As an informative face-to-face event facilitated jointly by UNITAR and WIPO, this seminar features experts from WIPO, academia and other relevant institutions. Following their presentations, participants have an opportunity to engage in in-depth discussions with the speakers. All participants who successfully complete the seminar receive a joint Certificte of Completion from UNITAR and WIPO.

Participants

The seminar is designed for members of Permanent Missions based in New York. For practical reasons, the number of participants will be limited. WIPO and UNITAR thus reserve the right to make a selection among the candidates if necessary. The selected candidates are requested to regard their participation as a firm commitment.

Working language

English

Additional Information

Seminar Programme

Information Note

Presentations

Copyright Law, Professor Barton Beebe, New York University School of Law
Trademark Law, Professor David Franklyn, University of San Francisco School of Law
Patents Law, Professor Elizabeth Rowe, University of Florida Levin College of Law
WIPO Development Agenda, Dr. Rama Rao, Officer-in-Charge, WIPO Coordination Office at the United Nations
WIPO's Work on Global Challenges: Overview on Climate Change, Access to Health and Food Security, Dr. Nuno Pires Carvalho, Deputy Director, Global Challenges Division, WIPO
Climate Change: Innovation and Green Technologies, Dr. Nikhil Chandavarkar, Division for Sustainable Development, UN DESA
Access to Health, Professor Horace Anderson, Pace Law School, New York
Traditional Knowledge, Ms. Sonia Smallacombe, UN Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Contact: Ms. Hyun Sung

Mission

Training to sustain human development

UNITAR's mission is to deliver innovative training and conduct research on knowledge systems to develop the capacity of beneficiaries.

"Building on our experience, we optimize expertise, information and knowledge-sharing to achieve this mission."

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