TRAINING OF PATENTABILITY OF BIOTECHNOLOGICAL INVENTIONS IN GEORGIA
9 Aug 2024
EURASIA
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In order to strengthen the professional development of examiners from Sakpatenti's Inventions and New Varieties Department, a three-day training on 'Patentability of Biotechnological Inventions and FTO (Freedom to Operate) Search' was organized on 18-20 June at the Hotel 'Holiday Inn Tbilisi'. The training took place as part of a joint project (GESIP) between Sakpatenti and the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI). The training was given by Dr. Ingrid B. Müller, a patent expert at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI).
During the training, participants learned about the legal foundations of biotechnological inventions, including patentability criteria and established exclusions and limitations. During the session, an interactive discussion took place on biotechnology-specific FTO search strategies and tools. Participants undertook practical exercises using databases such as Espacenet, Lens, and other search systems to gain an understanding of the advantages and specificities of searching. In particular, the focus was on DNA sequence searching, recent developments in biotechnology, and the patentability of bacteriophages.
One of Sakpatenti's priorities is to increase the professional competence of its employees and to introduce new services in the field of patents and provide them to IP users, which will significantly contribute to the development of the Georgian patent system. To this end, a cycle of training sessions on freedom-to-operate (FTO) searches in various fields has been planned and implemented within the project.
Biotechnology covers the use of living organisms and biological systems to create new products and technologies across sectors such as medicine, agriculture, environmental protection, and industry. Over the last few years, the number of patents in the field of biotechnology has been on the rise worldwide. According to statistics from the European Patent Office (EPO), applications in the biotechnology field increased by 46% between 2015 and 2023. Freedom-to-operate (FTO) searches in the biotechnology sector are therefore of particular practical importance.
GESIP was launched on 1 August 2022 as a joint project of Sakpatenti and the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), and is financially supported by the Swiss Economic Secretariat (SECO). The project intends to promote trade and investment in Georgia by facilitating the protection and utilization of IPRs.
If you have any inquiries regarding intellectual property matters, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
