Током 68. серије заседања Генералне скупштине Светске организације за интелектуалну својину (WIPO), у четвртак 9. јула 2026. године одржан је билатерални састанак делегације Завода, на челу с директором Владимиром Марићем, са тимом Сектора за сарадњу са земљама у транзицији и развијене земље, на челу с директором Хабип Асаном.
During the 68th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), on Thursday, July 9, 2026, the delegation of the Intellectual Property Office, headed by Director Vladimir Marić, held a bilateral meeting with the team of the Department for Transition and Developed Countries, headed by its Director, Mr. Habip Asan.
The meeting focused on the activities carried out between the two sessions of the WIPO General Assembly, as well as those currently under way. These include the preparation of the Intellectual Property Development Programme and the cooperation plan for 2027, encompassing both previously agreed and new activities.
As part of the proceedings under Agenda Item 15, concerning the Lisbon System, Director Marić delivered a statement on July 13, 2026, reaffirming the strong support of the Republic of Serbia for the Lisbon System as a key mechanism for the international protection of appellations of origin and geographical indications. Director Marić emphasized the importance of the continued modernization of the Lisbon System, as well as the need to raise awareness among producers of products with protected geographical origin of the benefits offered by the System.
The central message of his statement was that Member States should devote particular attention to the protection of appellations of origin and geographical indications. They are not merely economic assets, but also form part of our cultural heritage. They embody the traditional knowledge and skills of our ancestors and constitute part of the identity of our people.
Director Marić informed the participants that, on June 25, 2026, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia had adopted the Law on the Ratification of the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement. According to him, this represents an important step towards strengthening the protection of traditional Serbian products and facilitating the protection of appellations of origin and geographical indications belonging to foreign right holders in Serbia. The full statement is available HERE.
In connection with this agenda item and the forthcoming deposit by the Republic of Serbia of its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act with the Director General of WIPO, an informal meeting was also held with Ms. Alexandra Grazioli, Director of the Lisbon Registry.
On the final day of the meetings of the WIPO Assemblies, July 15, 2026, discussions were also concluded under Agenda Item 11, concerning the work of seven different committees.
Under this agenda item, and in relation to the work of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE), Director Marić delivered a statement confirming the support of the Republic of Serbia for the work of the Committee. He emphasized that the Committee represents a unique global forum for the exchange of knowledge and good practices in the field of intellectual property enforcement.
He stressed that effective enforcement requires close coordination among the competent national authorities, as well as international cooperation, since there is no single, universally applicable solution for combating piracy and counterfeiting in every country.
As an example of Serbia’s recent successful activities in this field, he highlighted a coordinated operation conducted by the competent national authorities to combat the illegal transmission of television signals. Director Marić also presented the results of a major expert workshop held in Belgrade in March of this year.
The workshop was organized within the framework of the EU-funded IPA 2021 project and brought together numerous representatives of Serbian intellectual property enforcement authorities, as well as several important international partners in this field. Participants included representatives of Europol, Interpol, the Council of Europe, EU Member States and right holders, among others. Director Marić’s full statement is available at the LINK.
Following discussions on the remaining agenda items, some of which required substantial coordination among the different regional groups, particularly those concerning the work of the Coordination Committee, the meetings concluded with the presentation of the timetable for the adoption of the meeting reports. The reports will be made available for comments under the usual procedure in late August or early September.
The meetings concluded with closing statements by the delegates. The final remarks were delivered by Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of WIPO.