World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated on April 26. U.S. Embassy to Armenia, American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia and Microsoft Armenia jointly organized Economic Case for Strong Protection of Intellectual Property in Armenia conference-discussion on this occasion.

Banks.am talked to Central and Eastern Europe SAM & Compliance Director at Microsoft Laurent Signoret, who arrived in Armenia to take part in the conference-discussion.

“Digitalization of the world is a huge opportunity and a huge challenge at the same time. More and more people are using digital devices, which increases the number of cyber-attacks. 93% of the money in the world is digital today. Criminal organizations are going to move where the money is. Cyber-attack rate (86%) in Armenia is concerning, as it is rather a high indicator. Partnership between public and private (corporations, startups) sectors is necessary to solve these issues,” Microsoft representative remarked.

Laurent Signoret thinks that the protection of intellectual property is closely related to the investment attractiveness of the country.

“Countries are competing with each other in order to attract investors. It is important for the investors to see that their intellectual property is protected, because it will make them feel more confident in investing here. Besides, young and educated Armenians can develop a business in Armenia, and if IP is not protected they may move to other countries. It is so sad to see best ones living the country. If you want other people to respect your intellectual property, you have to respect their intellectual property first,” he emphasized.

Laurent Signoret called on Armenian lawmakers to not be afraid of going after “bad guys” and let education and enforcement become a good habit.

Narine Daneghyan