WIPO Director General Francis Gurry Visits the Philippines

IPOPHL has invited a high profile expert and authority in the international IP system to share his vision on the role of intellectual property in access to technology. No less than the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry is visiting the Philippines for the first time on March 21-23, 2012. Director General Gurry will be at the Forum on Traditional Knowledge. He will be Keynote Speaker on the High Level Forum on Access to Global Technology, where a Press Conference will also be held at 11:30am on March 22, 2012 at the Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati City.

His official visit is seen to raise the profile of IP and explore practical strategies to increase access to technology for innovation.

Francis Gurry was appointed as Director General of WIPO on October 1, 2008. He is the fourth Director General of WIPO and his current six-year term runs through September 2014.

As Director General, Mr. Gurry is addressing many challenges to ensure that WIPO and the international intellectual property system continue stimulating innovation and creativity and contributing to market order worldwide. How can WIPO and national IP offices meet the growing demand for patent services around the world? Are changes to the copyright system necessary to ensure its relevance in a rapidly evolving business and technological environment? How can respect for intellectual property rights be promoted in the face of widespread trade in counterfeit and pirated goods? How can WIPO contribute to the active participation and enjoyment in the benefits of innovation and the knowledge economy by all countries?

In response to the urgent challenges for intellectual property in the 21st Century, Mr. Gurry has led a comprehensive program of strategic realignment of the direction and work of the Organization. The program is aimed at realigning WIPO programs, resources and structures with a new set of strategic goals to enable it to respond more effectively to the rapidly evolving technological, cultural and geo-economic environment.