Kosovo meets the criteria for membership in World Intellectual Property Organisation and this should happen, as it does not represent only a right, but a necessity too for advancement of protecting the intellectual property in our country.
This is what the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Memli Krasniqi said in the conference titled “the System of Intellectual Property in Kosovo – achievements and challenges”, organised by the Agency for Industrial Property, Office of Copyright and Related Rights within MCYS and the Project financed by EU “Strengthening the System of Intellectual Property in Kosovo”. In this conference, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Bernard Nikaj, representatives from World Intellectual Property Organisation, police representative, customs, creators and businessmen participated too.
Minister Krasniqi also spoke more broadly about the achievements which have been marked towards protection of copy rights in Kosovo. He mentioned that a considerable progress has been marked, but he also mentioned that there are still challenges ahead of us.
“It is encouraging the fact that many creators and authors have used the legislation and have reported to the competent bodies and have initiated legal proceedings to protect their works. Although, we do not want misuses to happen regarding the rights of the author and intellectual property, it is important that in events when such cases occur, the authors themselves, creators, inventors and respective organisations undertake the legal actions so that the abusers are convicted in accordance with the law”, Minister Krasniqi said while he also added that for having a progress in these fields only the work of institutions is not sufficient.
“It is the society the one who should say stop to such things. If we see a movie circulating in pirate form before a premiere has been shown, if we see that an original book is copied for material benefit purposes, the cases must be reported accordingly. And to respond to such requirements in time, the responsible institutions of the country dealing with intellectual property must continue their work towards creating a functional system of intellectual property rights”, he said.
Minister thanked all local and international partners who have helped and are helping this segment.
On the other hand, the Minister Bernard Nikaj, stressed that Kosovo has marked a huge progress in protection of intellectual property.
“One of the challenges we are facing as a country is to ensure a business environment which is suitable for local entrepreneurs and creators, but also for attraction of investments from anywhere abroad. When speaking about innovators, entrepreneurs and local businesses, protection if ideas, protection of trademarks, protection of their patents is a key to encouraging and providing incentive to our creators and businesses who come forward with new products and ideas which add value not only to our economy but also penetrate to other countries of the region and even broader”, Nikaj said.
He also added that when we speak about foreign investors, it is critical for us to be able to guarantee these investors that the products and services they provide and produce, develop and trade in Kosovo and broader are protected according to modern and European legislation.
