Slovak President Andrej Kiska on Thursday ratified an agreement on the formation of the Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI), which is to endorse innovation policies, economic growth and competitiveness in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

The institute, based in Banska Bystrica in Slovakia, aims to offer innovations to proactive entrepreneurs and provide an advantageous and effective way to ensure international patent protection.

In addition, the institute's formation will eliminate any language barriers in informal communication of the applicants with the international authority.

VPI will be run as a intergovernmental organisation of the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and will be overseen by a managerial board made up of representatives of the signatory countries. The institute will be managed by a director, who will be appointed by the managerial board.

(Source: Xinhua)