The Ministry of Trade and Industry launched today an one-week seminar for finalizing the specifications of Sharr Cheese which is a potential product to be protected as a geographical indication in Kosovo.
In his speech, the Minister of Trade and Industry Endrit Shala initially emphasized his continued support towards the strengthening of the intellectual property system in Kosovo and the indications that affect the overall economic development of the country. “Strengthening this system is a priority of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and will remain such until the full fulfillment of the obligations deriving from the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU,” said Shala.
Minister Shala further noted that intellectual property has a special economic importance to the business; thus, it is estimated that 70 to 80 percent of a company's assets in knowledge-based economies consists of non-physical assets or intellectual capital. “Hence, we are and will be focused on the establishment of the intellectual property system, the adoption of all the necessary legal infrastructure and the further establishment and strengthening of the institutional infrastructure. This by increasing their physical and budgetary capacities to boost the fight against negative phenomena, such as unauthorized trademark use; production, export and sale of patents without a license; product counterfeiting ; and other similar phenomena, which are a concern in many countries of the world and will be fought in Kosovo just as hard,” stated Shala, adding that Kosovo is committed towards a developed market economy and as the foundation thereto protection of intellectual property should be strengthened.
In addition, Minister Shala stated that intellectual property bears a special importance for businesses and the society at large. “The Government of Kosovo intends to set up an intellectual property system, especially for industrial property, which is the responsibility of MTI. In this regard, the government in this mandate prioritizes economic development and increase of domestic production and brands, including products that come from specific regions of Kosovo which contain geographical indications or designations of origin, such as Sharr Cheese, wines, etc.”, said Shala.
“In strengthening intellectual protection, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has paid particular importance to the creation of the necessary legal infrastructure for the protection of intellectual property by adopting laws and bylaws such as the Law on Geographic Indicators and Designations of Origin and the bylaws deriving from this law, thus completing the necessary infrastructure concerning geographical indications and designations of origin. To this end, recently I signed an administrative instruction addressing symbols for geographical indications, designations of origin and guaranteed traditional specialty”, reiterated Minister Shala. He also announced that the Government of the Republic of Kosovo has recently mandated the State Intellectual Property Council consisting of all law enforcement institutions directly involved in the protection of intellectual property at the state level.
At the same time, according to Minister Shala, the protection of products with geographical indications and designations of origin will make Kosovo’s products more competitive and create a more favorable business environment that will increase competitiveness in manufacturing, processing and trade, improving quality of life in rural areas and contributing to the protection of the living environment in general.
The Ambassador of France in Kosovo, Didier Chabert, also attended the seminar, where he welcomed the works of the seminar and emphasized the continued support of French institutions in this area of interest to Kosovar producers.
On the other hand, the seminar organizer, Nezir Gashi, General Director of the Industrial Property Agency (IPA), thanked the institutional supporters of the Government of Kosovo in this area as well as the support of the French Embassy in Kosovo, specifically French Ambassador Didier Chabert, for the continuous financial support through various projects aimed at protecting Sharr Cheese with Geographic Indications.
The seminar was supported by the TAIEX program, the French Embassy and the Kosovo Institute of Intellectual Property.
