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May 7-9, 2025
In collaboration with the Dominican Republic’s National Intellectual Property Office (ONAPI), WIPO hosted the Second Sub-regional Meeting of the CATI-CARD Network in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The meeting convened more than 30 representatives from national IP offices and universities across the seven CATI-CARD member countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.
The meeting marked the conclusion of a regional effort, which had began in Costa Rica in 2024 to develop the harmonized Model Institutional Policy for Intellectual Property (IP) Management for Universities in the Member Countries of the CATI-CARD Network, Central America and the Dominican Republic. The event was finalized with the official presentation of the policy, accompanied by a practical implementation guide and tools.
During the opening remarks, Ms. Lien Verbauwhede, Counsellor, Technology Transfer Section, IP for Innovators Department, IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector, WIPO, stated that "These models and policies may seem, at first glance, like documents on paper; but in reality, they have the power to transform lives. A well-designed policy can be the starting point for a university to protect a new climate-resilient crop variety, for an invention developed in a lab to reach the market and improve lives, or for traditional knowledge to be preserved with respect, equity, and justice."
WIPO’s regional consultants, Mr. Juan Carlos Suárez Delgadillo and Ms. María Camila Duque Díaz, delivered interactive sessions covering IP management, technology transfer, academic IP ownership, and the strategic role of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs). Participants engaged in gamified workshops and real-life case studies to explore challenges and solutions related to institutional strategy design and IP policy implementation.
The event also served to reaffirm the role of the CATI-CARD Network, formally established during the 2015 Ministerial Meeting on Intellectual Property, as a platform committed to advancing national innovation ecosystems through equitable access to technological information and strengthening capacities in knowledge management and transfer across the region.
In addition, the regional model also draws on national experiences, such as Panama’s successful development of its own institutional IP policy with WIPO’s support. This informed strategy encouraged the exchange of best practices and horizontal cooperation among institutions at varying levels of IP maturity.
By aligning regional efforts with global standards and strengthening institutional capacities, WIPO’s mission in the Dominican Republic represents a concrete step toward a more innovative, resilient, and interconnected IP ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean.