During the celebration of the 105th anniversary of the Intellectual Property Office, high-level bilateral meetings were held between the representatives of the European Patent Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization with representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and conference participants.
On Monday, November 24, 2025, a bilateral meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between the Ambassador Katarina Lalić Smajević, Acting Assistant Minister and Hasan Kleib, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). At the meeting, Ms. Lalić Smajević emphasized the importance of a well-functioning intellectual protection system in the Republic of Serbia for attracting foreign investment and for the economy, highlighting the contribution of cooperation with WIPO, which is achieved largely through cooperation activities and support for the Intellectual Property Office. Mr. Kleib specifically stated that WIPO has excellent cooperation with the Office and that activities are underway to develop an Intellectual Development Strategy and that a Regional Seminar on Drafting Patent Applications is also being held at the Office in the second week of December. He also promoted the WIPO Academy programs aimed at various target groups, as well as the possibility of organizing training courses conducted by WIPO experts and other experts for diplomats through the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
During the conference marking the anniversary of the Office, on November 25, 2025, a bilateral meeting was held between the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujić and the President of the European Patent Office (EPO), Antonio Campinos in the National Parliament. At the meeting, which took place in an extremely cordial atmosphere, Minister Vujić emphasized the importance of a well-functioning patent protection system for the economy of our country and emphasized that the development of the national patent system largely takes place through cooperation between the IPO and the European patent Office (EPO). President Antonio Campinos expressed great satisfaction with the excellent cooperation with the IPO of the Republic of Serbia, the oldest and largest office in the region, and stated that he sees the great potential for the further development of our country in exceptionally well-educated and motivated young people. The meeting was dedicated to discussing improving cooperation in terms of training judges in the field of protection of patent rights.
Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić also held a working meeting with Mr. Hasan Kleib, Deputy Director General of the WIPO. Minister Vujić underlined that improving cooperation at the national level in the field of intellectual property is essential, both through coordination of state authorities and through the partnership with international institutions such as WIPO. The need to strengthen institutional cooperation between the law enforcement agencies, inspection services and courts with the IPO was particularly emphasized. In order to protect IP more effectively, Mr. Kleib presented the possibilities of support that WIPO can provide in this process. In this context, he pointed out the training programs implemented by the WIPO Academy, which are intended for judges and public prosecutors in the field of intellectual property. These programs, as stated, could be integrated into the education provided by the Judicial Academy of the Republic of Serbia, which would contribute to increasing the capacity of judicial authorities in the implementation and protection of intellectual property rights.
During the conference, on the occasion of the IPO`s anniversary, held at the Serbian Army Palace, on the same day, a bilateral meeting of WIPO representatives was held with Kristina Janković Obućina, ecosystem manager from the Serbian Games Association (SGA). The SGA representative emphasized that Serbia ranks highly in Europe in video games industry, noting that 55% of games developed in Serbia are based on own intellectual property and that 33% of women work in this industry in Serbia and the same number of women in leading positions, which places us in the third place in Europe. The Deputy Director General of WIPO, Mr. Keib, stated that the SGA is recognized worldwide and has offered expert and tailored training in the field of intellectual property for young talents and for SGA members by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
