With Director General Adrian Cristobal, Jr. (center) are the speakers to the WIPO-Sweden Advanced Training Course on Copyright and Related Rights in the Global Economy on 13-17 February 2006 in Makati City. From left: Mr. Henry Olsson, Special Government Adviser, Ministry of Justice, Stockholm; Mrs. Tarja Koskinen-Olsson, Honorary President, International Federation Reprograhic Rights Organization (IFRRO), Helsinki; Mrs. Gao Hang, Deputy Dean and Head, Policy, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva; and Mr. Bo Hallgren, Director, International Cooperation, Swedish Patent and Registration Office, Stockholm.

IP Philippines hosts copyright confab

The Advanced Training Course on Copyright and Related Rights in the Global Economy will conclude this week in a follow-up meeting from February 13-17, 2006 at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) building in Makati City.

The activity is sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Swedish Patent and Registration Office and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

Now on its fourth and final phase, the assembly will re-convene some 22 participants from different countries to review the results of their respective projects, which were drafted during the first phase of the meeting held in Stockholm , Sweden last year. These projects were developed and implemented in the participants respective home countries for a period of six months.

The training intends to enhance the skills and knowledge of senior managers responsible for the administration of systems for the protection of copyright and related rights from developing countries within the framework of the global economic systems.

One of the key objectives of the programme is to familiarize the participants with the three important pillars of an effective copyright system namely, legislation, enforcement and management, both from a national and international perspective.

According to IP Philippines Director General Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr., “This final meeting will discuss a number of special issues of actual importance, such as the economic impact of copyright law and of the copyright industries in the national economies.”

He added that the conference will give participants the opportunity to assess the copyright and related rights situation in their own countries and find ideas on how to improve such condition on the basis of knowledge and experience gained in the course of the program.

The Philippine project, presented by IP Philippines Bureau of Legal Affairs Director Estrellita Abelardo, proposed an enhancement of copyright protection and enforcement in the country.

She recommended having a stronger enforcement of the copyright law through reforms in the legislative framework and capacity building of legal and technical staff of IP Philippines. Abelardo also urged for a better promotion of copyright and related rights through seminars and the designating a collective management to protect the copyright of Filipino creators, artists and writers.

Participating countries apart from the Philippines are China , Costa Rica , Jamaica , Zambia , Trinidad and Tobago , Fiji , Paraguay , Papua New Guinea , The Gambia, Nepal , Malawi , Ethiopia , Tanzania , Syria , Kenya , Zambia , Nigeria , and Iran.