Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 11
Trend:
Comprehensive measures aimed at the development of the economy, combining knowledge and innovations, are already yielding positive results in the country, Head of the department of the Azerbaijani Center for the Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication Nijat Hajizade told Trend on Oct. 11.
“In particular, great progress in this sphere was achieved thanks to successful implementation of the “Strategic road maps for the national economy and main economic sectors”, approved by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in 2016,” Hajizade added.
“Moreover, the Intellectual Property Agency has been established in the country, as an institution that regulates intellectual products, inventions and their protection,” the head of the department said. “After the establishment of this agency, the significant growth in the field of inventions and the production of innovative and intellectual products has been observed.”
“The mentioned achievements were indicated in international economic indices,” Hajizade said. “Azerbaijan’s reforms in this sphere were positively evaluated.”
“The country has advanced 11 points in the Global Competitiveness Index, which is published by the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the work carried out in our country in the field of invention and protection of intellectual products, innovative potential, affected the achievement of this positive result,” the head of the department added.
“Thus, Azerbaijan is the undisputed leader in the protection of intellectual property in the South Caucasus and among the CIS countries,” Hajizade said. “Azerbaijan scored 70.4 points on the intellectual property protection sub-index and, having advanced six positions, ranked 30th among 141 countries. Tajikistan ranks second in the ranking among the CIS countries, 31 positions behind Azerbaijan. Moreover, in this indicator, Azerbaijan is ahead of the vast majority of countries in Central and Eastern Europe.”
The head of the department added that according to the Global Competitiveness Report methodology, the countries are ranked on a 7-point scale.
“Azerbaijan advanced by 0.4 positions and scored 5.4 points in the intellectual ability protection index compared to last year’s report,” Hajizade added. “Scoring one point on this sub-index means that the intellectual property is not protected in the country, while seven points, on the contrary, is protected in a proper manner.”
“As in all spheres where rights are protected, growth in this sphere is directly related to trust,” the head of the department said. “According to the index, there is an increase in the positions of the corresponding sub-indicators, reflecting the costs of scientific publications, patent applications, research and development.”
“The growth of these three indicators is directly proportional to the progress of intellectual property,” he said. “If we learn from the international experience, we can see that the growth of these indicators directly depends on the current state of intellectual property rights.”
“The positive results in the Global Competitiveness Index also affect the improvement of the country's position in the Global Innovation Index because the Global Innovation Index, as a source, refers to the Global Competitiveness Index,” Hajizade added.