On May 7, 2020, CLDP in coordination with the U.S. Embassy in Baku, led a three-hour webinar for Azerbaijan local IT companies, law firms, and law students focused on negotiating international software agreements. CLDP developed the webinar as the result of an assessment held with private sector companies in Azerbaijan who were interested in expanding internationally through joint development agreements and who also needed to understand how to best address key intellectual property (IP) issues.  The webinar's two main experts, a corporate counsel from Google and the general counsel of Silicon Valley based start-up, focused on key IP issues that arise in the negotiation of licensing agreements and how software IP can be protected.  The live webinar included time for questions from local counterparts.  Strengthening IP rights will help Azerbaijan develop a knowledge-based economy, improve employment opportunities and economic stability, and protect the IP of both Azerbaijan and U.S. companies.