World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The Republic of Azerbaijan has joined to the WIPO in 1995. Currently, Azerbaijan is a party to the following WIPO-administered treaties:

·         Berne Convention

·         Budapest Treaty

·         Hague Agreement

·         Locarno Agreement

·         Madrid Agreement (Marks)

·         Madrid Protocol

·         Nairobi Treaty

·         Nice Agreement

·         Paris Convention

·         Patent Cooperation Treaty

·         Phonograms Convention

·         Rome Convention

·         Strasbourg Agreement

·         UPOV Convention

·         WIPO Convention

·         WIPO Copyright Treaty

·         WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty

The Director General of the WIPO, Dr. Kamil Idris, met with Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of Republic Azerbaijan on March 3, 2006 to discuss a number of bilateral issues and the importance of intellectual property as a strategic tool for development and wealth creation.

The meeting took place following talks with the Cabinet of Ministers and the signing of a cooperation program between WIPO and the Government of Azerbaijan. Dr. Idris was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Azerbaijan during his official visit to Baku.

Dr. Idris pledged WIPO's continued support of Azerbaijan in upgrading and modernizing its intellectual property infrastructure and applauded Azerbaijan's commitment to the promotion and protection of intellectual property rights. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of Republic Azerbaijan highlighted the significance of the cooperation program which he said is a very important step forward in light of his country's shift towards a market economy. Dr. Idris said the program will be implemented in a way that "serves the interests of the country, its people and government."

During talks with the President, particular emphasis was placed on the development of human resources in Azerbaijan to ensure that the country was in a position to fully harness the value to be derived from efficient use of the intellectual property system. The importance of raising public awareness about the importance of intellectual property to development was also underlined.

The Director-General also met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, and with Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva, the President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, who was awarded the WIPO Creativity Award for her contribution to the preservation and development of the national cultural heritage of Azerbaijan.

Dr. Idris also met with scientists and artists to discuss the importance of promoting awareness of intellectual property and its potential as a tool for development.

Every year, the high level delegation of Azerbaijan participates at the meetings of the WIPO General Assemblies, meet with the Director-General of the WIPO and the Director of the Department for Transition and Developed Countries.

Moreover, the government representatives periodically attend the sessions of the various WIPO Committees, as well as the courses and trainings organized by the WIPO academy.

Under the patronage of the WIPO Academy, Azerbaijani representatives received their master’s degree on intellectual property at the Turin University of Italy.

Azerbaijan has been a regional coordinator within the WIPO during 2010-2011.

Enforcement Centre on Intellectual Property Rights was established under the Copyright Agency became a member of the WIPO Global Network of Intellectual Property Academies.

WIPO Depository Library was created at the Azerbaijan State Economic University in 2012.

With the support of the WIPO, several international national events have been organized in Azerbaijan. A number of WIPO experts visited Azerbaijan to attend the very events.

The meeting was held, on 13 January 2014, between the Ambassador, Permanent Representative M.Najafbayli and F.Gurry, the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

F.Gurry has noted that, during the recent years under his leadership, a number of developments have occurred within the WIPO, 2 new multilateral treaties have been adopted, global intellectual property system has been strengthened, intellectual property services have been broadened, the soundness of the financial resources of the WIPO has been ensured, productivity and efficiency have been increased, very good information technology system has been created in order to connect all countries.

F.Gurry has also mentioned that, there are close cooperation ties between the WIPO and Azerbaijan. He has noted that, Azerbaijan develops quite fast, therefore linking intellectual property and economic development goals can positively contribute to the sustainable development and the development of the knowledge economy in Azerbaijan.

Ambassador, Permanent Representative M.Najafbayli has noted the recent developments in the field of intellectual property in Azerbaijan, as well as the role of the intellectual property in the economy of Azerbaijan. Moreover, Ambassador, Permanent Representative M.Najafbayli highlighted that the current level of relations between Azerbaijan and the WIPO is high. Ambassador, Permanent Representative M.Najafbayli has also informed about the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan. 

H.E. Dr. Francis Gurry, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) paid a visit to Azerbaijan on 13-15 May 2014. H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan has received WIPO Director General.
WIPO Director General noted with pleasure that Baku was a beautiful city. President Ilham Aliyev noted that Baku had been developing day after day, and had become the venue of political, economic and other prestigious international events. Also, views were exchanged, during the very meeting, over the expansion of the cooperation between relevant organizations in Azerbaijan and the WIPO.

In the framework of the visit, F.Gurry held also meetings at the Cabinet of Ministers and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result of the visit, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and WIPO.

F.Gurry has visited the Public Administration Academy under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and received the diploma of the honorary doctor.

The report entitled “Global Innovation Index (GII) 2014: The Human Factor in Innovation”(http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/freepublications/en/economics/gii/gii_2014.pdf) has been published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The GII ranks the innovation performance of 143 countries and economies around the world based on 81 indicators. The GII ranks world economies based on the following indicators: institutions; human capital and research; infrastructure; market sophistication; business sophistication; knowledge and technology outputs; creative outputs.

Azerbaijan was highly ranked on the following indicators: ease of starting a business (13), market sophistication (26), micro-financing gross loans (15), investment (10), ease of protecting investors (21), non-agricultural market access weighted tariff (9), foreign direct investment net outflow (8), information-communication technologies and organization model creation (23).

The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results. The GII has established itself as a leading reference among innovation indices.