A network of technology and innovation support centres is planned to be established in Belarus. This was announced to journalists by the Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology (SCST), Alexander Shumilin, before a meeting with the Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), John Sandage, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
A network of technology and innovation support centres is planned to be established in Belarus. This was announced to journalists by the Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology (SCST), Alexander Shumilin, before a meeting with the Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), John Sandage, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
Alexander Shumilin emphasised that it is impossible to develop technologies without complete information on patents and the latest achievements in the field of intellectual property.
"We are interested in the commercialisation of scientific and technical developments. Last year, a technology and innovation support centre was established with the support of WIPO. This structure is aimed at quickly obtaining information about all new inventions and developments worldwide, as well as at offering our patents and developments for inclusion in the global database so that they are known abroad," said Alexander Shumilin. "We want to cover the whole of Belarus with this network. We will discuss the creation of a coordination centre for such a structure in the near future, based at the National Centre of Intellectual Property."
The process of obtaining patents is slowed down by the need to search for patents in the databases of other WIPO member states. "We can issue a patent within six months, but the patent search extends this period to one and a half years. That is, we can do it quickly, but it will be worse if an organisation starts production, and, for example, after a year it turns out that they did not have the right to do so based on priority. Then there may be serious penalties and court proceedings. In any case, the patent will be effective from the moment the application is filed, not from the moment it is issued, if such a decision is made," explained the Chairman of the SCST.
Alexander Shumilin discussed with John Sandage mechanisms for strengthening the intellectual property system and fostering innovation. Belarus is a party to the basic agreements facilitating foreign patenting of inventions: the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the Patent Law Treaty, the administrative functions of which are carried out by WIPO. This organization provides Belarus with significant financial and technical assistance in developing the national intellectual property system.