IAP Grows: Ecuador Becomes Fifth Participating Country

December 15, 2017

On November 20, 2017, Mr. Santiago Cevallos, Director of the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI), officially launched the Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) in Quito, Ecuador.

Some 60 participants attended the ceremony. The full range of stakeholders involved with the IAP took part in the meeting:

Inventors
Patent attorneys
National government officials
IAP sponsors

Photograph of IAP attending Patent Pro Bono Advisory Council Board Reception, Washington D.C. — (Photo: WIPO)

Key remarks at the ceremony were given by the representatives of two active sponsors of the program, Ms. Johana Aguirre, Representative of the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI), and Mr. Corey Salsberg, Vice President, Global Head IP Affairs, Novartis, and Member of the IAP Steering Committee. WIPO was represented by Mr. Marco Aleman, Director, Patent Law Division.

Seminar

The IAP launch was preceded by a seminar on innovation and patents attended, by nearly 60 participants. The seminar reviewed innovation trends in Ecuador and in particular the activities of the Ecuadorian Institute of Intellectual Property (IEPI) to support innovators, the role played by patents in spreading technical knowledge, and the Importance of intellectual property for business development.