Benefits of Membership

CIPR offers its members highly specific activities to achieve concrete results, including:

• Providing an effective mechanism for building professional relationships with governmental authorities and decision-makers involved in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the countries of the former Soviet Union. CIPR works closely with policy and lawmakers, the General Directors of PTOs and other regulatory officials, customs, police authorities and the judiciary. In fact, the region’s PTO General Directors participated in the Coalition’s founding meeting and in numerous initiatives on enforcement, legislative, consultative, dispute resolution and education undertaken since that time.

• Developing and working on the enactment of legislation and regulations to bring the countries’ IP regimes into compliance with international standards and expectations. CIPR is assisting PTOs as well as governments and parliaments throughout the region in establishing transparent, non-discriminatory and TRIPS-compliant IPR regimes.

• Actively advancing effective country-by-country and regional anti-counterfeiting and trademark enforcement efforts, strategies and education, including work with customs, judicial and police authorities.

• Securing financing for technical assistance and programs from various international financial institutions and other donor organizations.

• Establishing a reliable multi-channel communications network among government decision-makers and CIPR members to ensure the effective and timely exchange of information concerning legal, legislative, regulatory and political developments related to intellectual property rights in the countries of the former Soviet Union. CIPR regularly briefs official European Union delegations and the U.S. Government on IP issues on behalf of various CIPR Corporate and Associate Members.

• Educating and shaping opinions of government and business leaders, as well as the media and general public, as these opinions relate to IPR issues and their importance for investment, economic growth and tax revenues in the region.

• Establishing strong ties with other international intergovernmental and public IPR organizations. For example, CIPR is the only non-governmental organization officially accredited with the CIS Interstate Council on Industrial Property Protection, comprised of General Directors of the PTOs of the eight CIS countries. CIPR is also an official Observer to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and cooperates with the European Commission, World Customs Organization, International Trademark Association and International Association for the Protection of Industrial Property (AIPPI) national divisions throughout the region, among several other major international organizations.

For additional information on joining CIPR, companies and associations should contact: