On December 15, 2023, the Japan Patent Office virtually hosted the Group of Seven (G7) countries' Heads of IP Office Conversation. This was the third year in a row that the event was held, continuing the success of the 2021 and 2022 editions.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO)'s Chief Executive Officer, Konstantinos Georgaras, joined his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the World Intellectual Property Organization to discuss opportunities for collaboration in the global innovation economy, including:
initiatives that contribute toward diversity and inclusion in the field of intellectual property (IP)
measures that make IP systems more accessible to creators and innovators from all segments of society
ways to address IP issues that arise in the new digital contexts such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse
Reflecting the theme of emerging technologies, this year's event was held in the metaverse, an online interactive virtual reality (VR) space. Mr. Georgaras met with his fellow leaders by wearing a VR headset. They held discussions in a virtual boardroom and then took a virtual boat to visit the Itsukushima Shrine together.
At the conclusion of the meeting, CIPO joined the other IP offices in releasing a joint statement calling for continued efforts to improve their respective IP systems, with a focus on increasing diversity and inclusion and addressing the challenges of IP rights in new digital contexts.
