21 april 2011

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation Francis Gurry

Participants:
Prime Minister Putin assured Mr Gurry that the Russian government is highly committed to protecting intellectual property, noting several recent and critical amendments to legislation.

Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Gurry, ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to meet with you in Moscow in advance of World Intellectual Property Day.

I appreciate that you have dedicated many years of your life to protecting intellectual property, and I would like to reassure you that we are also highly committed to this cause. Recently, we have made several important decisions in this field, first and foremost, in amending our legislation. I know that you support these changes and have taken an active part in what is happening in Russia, and we are very grateful to you for that. Thank you.

Francis Gurry (via interpreter): Thank you, Mr Prime Minister. It is a great honor for me to meet with you here. This has already been a long working day for you, for which I am doubly grateful.

I’m happy to be visiting Russia right now, especially given the leadership you have shown in protecting intellectual property rights. I think that it's a very interesting and telling example for the rest of the world. I think the world is going through a transitional period; and I think that the initiative  and international leadership you have shown is a good example for others. I would like to take advantage of this occasion to thank you for your very constructive and multi-lateral approach and for participating in the work of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Vladimir Putin: As you know, we are conducting a dialogue on WTO accession with many of our partners, and we have recently made a series of critical decisions in this direction. For example, we developed Part 4 of the Civil Code, which came into force in 2008. Our primary goal is to bring our legislation into compliance with current realities, or rather, to make those realities comply with the law.

Our law enforcement agencies – a key element of the intellectual property protection system – are doing a great deal of work and have shown very good results.

We expect to continue working in close contact with you and benefitting from your support and professional assistance.

Francis Gurry (via interpreter): Thank you, and we will certainly give you all the help we can.