International co-operation

International co-operation

WIPO collaborates actively with the authorities in Azerbaijan. In 1998, it joined the State Copyright Agency in organizing a national seminar on the implications of the new WIPO treaties (the Internet treaties) and the TRIPS agreement. In May 2000, the Agency and WIPO organized the first regional seminar in the Southern Caucasus on action against piracy, which was attended by representatives of copyright organizations, the police and customs authorities in Georgia and various Central Asian countries.
The celebration of World Intellectual Property Day, proclaimed by WIPO under the slogan, “Creating the future today”, on 26 April in the first year of the millennium, and the celebration, three years running, of World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April, attracted huge attention in Azerbaijan.
The Agency co-operated with the Ministry of Education in organizing the intellectual property competition for students at national level, with the winner going on to compete in the international finals, organized by WIPO. 
With a view to strengthening co-operation between WIPO and the Agency, WIPO experts visited Azerbaijan and helped to draw up a major plan, covering computer and office equipment for the Agency, and training and retraining for its experts. The Director General of WIPO, Mr. Kamil Idris, ratified a co-operation programmer for 2001-2002 - a reflection both of the attention paid to Azerbaijan, and of the national leadership’s wise internal and foreign policy. WIPO’s 07 co-operation programmer, under which it helps various transition countries in Europe and Asia to improve and develop their intellectual property systems, deserves general support.
WIPO’s interest in Azerbaijan and its policy was also reflected in its decision to include Azerbaijan among the first five participants in the international computer network, WIPOnet – a decision backed by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This network will be used to exchange information on intellectual property rapidly at international level. The State Agency is the first copyright office in the world to join it, and WIPO is covering both its equipment costs and rental of the special data channels.
Azerbaijan is one of the four CIS countries involved in the European Union’s “TACIS – Intellectual Property” programmer, which has sponsored several sessions of the Steering Committee on Copyright and the Anti-Piracy Committee, and helped to equip the Agency and set up the local “authors” network. In co-operation with TACIS, three international and national seminars/symposiums have been organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Youth and Sport on the protection of audiovisual works, the defense of copyright, and youth problems and copyright, and several dozen meetings have been held with various categories of rights-holder.
With support from WIPO and the TACIS programmer, Agency staff have attended courses at the WIPO Academy and received training in various European countries, and judges, police officers and customs officials have been retrained.
Furher evidence of the regard in which Azerbaijan and its President’s policy are held is provided by: the Agency representative’s attendance at the WIPO Diplomatic Conference in December 2000 and his election as vice-chairman, the inclusion of Azerbaijan among WIPO coordinating countries in 2001-2002, and the Agency representative’s election as a vice-chairman of the Berne Union. Welcoming the latter at the Diplomatic Conference, WIPO’s Director General, Mr. Kamil Idris, spoke of the successes achieved by the young State, and paid special tribute to its President, Mr. Heydar Aliyev. 

K.Imanov, 2005