On October 16, representatives of the Latvian Patent Office (LPO) met with a delegation of the European Patent Office (EPO) to discuss current issues of bilateral cooperation and to outline joint activities for the following years.
The parties discussed the IT projects and public education and awareness-raising activities in the field of intellectual property (IP) protection implemented by the LPO, paying special attention to the issues of patent protection. The LPO also emphasized the importance of training for its employees to improve their professional skills.
LPO Director Agris Batalauskis noted: "Thanks to the support provided by the EPO, we have already successfully implemented several projects, including those in the field of IT. The goal of the LPO is to become a professional support centre in the area of IP protection, that is why we appreciate the good cooperation with the EPO and are interested in implementing new projects to achieve the objectives set."
The EPO representatives also expressed their interest in participating in new projects and positively evaluated the active involvement of LPO representatives in and contribution to various working groups aiming at ensuring improvements in the operation of information resources and educating the public in the field of IP.
The participants form the EPO were Ms. Anna Dachowska, Regional Desk Lead, Member States and Neighbouring Countries, Mr. Simon White, Director, IT Co-operation, and Mr. Barnaby Hoyal, Project Manager, IT Co-operation Partnership, while the LPO was represented by Mr. Agris Batalauskis, LPO Director, Mr. Eriks Rēkis, LPO Deputy Director/ Director, Administrative and Finance Department, Ms. Līga Lārmane, Director, Patent Department, Mr. Arnis Dmitruks, Head, Technical Support Division, Administrative and Financial Department, Ms. Vineta Sondore, Leading Officer, Development and International Cooperation Department, Mr. Aleksandrs Morozs, IT Specialist, Technical Support Division, Administrative and Financial Department, and Mr. Aldis Vilks, IT Specialist, Technical Support Division, Administrative and Financial Department.