FICPI Triennial World Congress Convenes in Melbourne

During 15-21 April 2012, the triennial world congress of International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI, acronym for the federation's French name Bureau of the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle) was held in Melbourne, Australia.

The event gathered more than 350 FICPI members from 52 countries and regions to work on the theme of "Communication and Cooperation”. Programs were conducted in plenary and breakout sessions. The plenary sessions covered topics of: “Judges Without Borders - How Judges Use Decisions from Other Countries”, "Offices Working Together and With Users for a Better IP World”, and “Centralised IP: Where Is the Profession Going and How the IP Profession Must Adapt to Changes”, whereas the breakout sessions discussed issues related to technology transfer, brand protection, a single patent within Europe, protecting IP on the Web, challenges and opportunities for their clients and the profession in increasingly crowded IP realm. Valuable insight and in-depth exploration into relevant IP issues were contributed by judiciaries, authorities officials and senior attorneys from countries including China, the United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil and India.   

During the Congress, FICPI's Executive Committee (Exco) and Work and Study Commission (CET) sub-groups also met to examine topics of relevance to the federation, and formed resolutions on issues of more immediate concerns. The resolutions will be communicated to respective IP authorities and bodies in the hope of influencing the future direction of IP law and practice worldwide. The Congress further worked on the selection of new board members, in which Mr. Bastiaan Koster from South Africa was elected President for the upcoming three-year term. 

China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd.’s Senior Counsel and FICPI Vice President Ms. Jenny Wang attended the Congress and is pleased to have the opportunity for extensive exchanges of views with the participants on professional and practice matters during the sessions.