The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting (1st to 5th June, 2015)

　

(Left:Charge d' Affaires ad interim Sakamoto giving his opening speech, Right: Participants )

　

　From 1st to 5th June, a conference “WIPO Meeting on Developing the TISC Project: Second Workshop on the Effective Use of Technical and Scientific Information, Training of Trainers and TISC project Planning Meeting” was held in Rwanda. This event was a follow-up to the WIPO meeting which was held on 5th and 6th May. In 2008, the Japanese government established new Funds-in-Trust in WIPO in order to support capacity building in the field of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in Africa and least developed countries by increasing the existing amount of contribution of Funds-in-Trust of Japan. The Japanese government provides 1.1million Schweizer Franken per year into the Funds, and this meeting was organized under the framework of this Funds-in Trust of Japan arrangement. The activities under this Funds-in-Trust are conducted by cooperation between WIPO and Japan Patent Office (JPO).

　The primary purpose of this event was to build capacity through the development of national networks of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) capable of assisting local users in Rwanda to effectively use and exploit technology in patent and in science & technology journal databases, and to facilitate more effective development of the TISC network through practical sessions on raising awareness and training of trainers. Mr. Sakamoto, charge d' Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of Japan, gave his remarks as a representative of the Japanese government at the opening ceremony, and stated that Rwanda is working on eliminating corruption and improving the investment environment, in particular, it is attracting foreign direct investment, notably in such areas as the ICT in recent years. In the field of intellectual property, I understand that Rwanda announced an ambitious Intellectual Property Policy in 2010 and since then has been steadily implementing the measures, such as accession to WIPO treaties. He concluded by saying that he hopes this event would provide an opportunity for promoting utilization of technology databases in Rwanda, and that it would eventually contribute to further protection and better utilization of intellectual property.

　

　

Mr. Sakamoto, Charge d' Affaires ad interim at the Embassy, Speech