April 26 is the international intellectual property day. Touching on the topic, Deputy Head of Intellectual Property Department at RA Ministry of Economy Andranik Khachikyan presented the functions of the agency during a meeting with press and the state of intellectual property protection in our country.
“The main function of the department is registration of innovations, useful models, efficient samples after expertise analysis, but no obligations on violation of intellectual property rights. We can only provide council to the victimized party”, – says Khachikyan.
The Intellectual Property Agency has received 54 applications for intellectual innovations during the first quarter of this year only. These mainly relate to construction area.
The speaker believes most violations occur in the area of arts.
“Researches show that 90-95% of violations relate to use of works of art without the permission of the author. Shops often sell non-licensed discs”, – said Khachikyan.
Iravaban.net lawyer Karen Kocharyan believes the intellectual property violations have moved to internet. “It is because monitoring intellectual property online is very difficult. We need good specialists in IT area. And it’s not just about Armenia but the whole world”, – says the lawyer. He says that Armenia has joined a number of international conventions, however no effective controls have been put in place.
Nune Hovsepyan
