Last week, Ashgabat hosted a two-day regional seminar on the legal and practical aspects of the patent protection of medicines, which was conducted in the frames of the international measures devoted to the 20th anniversary of the State Program “Saglyk”. Organized by the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Eurasian Patent Organization, the forum was attended by representatives of Swiss Confederation, Russian Federation, Republic of Belarus, Ukraine, Republic of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan Republic, Republic of Armenia, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Uzbekistan, Republic of Tajikistan, and others. The reports delivered at the forum were centered on the patent protection, and providing access to the medicines, use of patents in the biotechnical and pharmaceutical industries, etc. The reports of Turkmen specialists introduced the seminar participants to the major trends of state’s policy in this sphere. Our country – a WIPO 20-year-member, was the first to join the Eurasian Patent Convention, thus having initiated the formation of a new interstate system of inventions protection on the basis of a single patent. The participants of seminar were also familiarized with key trends of the State Program “Saglyk” activities which is concentrated on tackling the tasks of further improvement of nation’s health and its gene pool, increase of the life span, development of the material-technical base of the health sector, providing of the quality-of-medical-services improvements. At present, over 200 names of medicines are produced in the country, which by quality, safety and efficiency meet the requirements of world standards. The analysis of curative properties of herbal plants, natural minerals, various clays and marine salts proves that the national medicine industry has broad opportunities for increasing the list of medicines and pharmaceutical products produced in the country. In this regard, the issues of their patent protection, as well as protection of the intellectual property in the pharmaceutical industry acquire an overriding importance. In the frames of seminar, a round table meeting was held focused mainly on the legal issues of the patent protection of medicines.