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Bastiaan Koster
President of FICPI
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Report from the President
The recent ExCo meeing in Kyoto opened with a report by Bastiaan Koster, President of FICPI, on the work of FICPI and the Bureau since the last ExCo meeting in Sorrento. Some of the key items reviewed by Bastiaan are summarized below; the full report is available here.
FICPI continues to monitor the global dossier, one of the high priority issues being looked at by the IP5, and is working with AIPPI to get a voice at the IP5 discussions.
Our new FICPI website went live earlier this year, and while it is still a work in progress, it will help to promote FICPI’s standing as the only international IP organisation promoting the IP attorney in private practice, and assist in the efficiency of FICPI's activities and document handling.
The IP practice is growing rapidly in Asia. The State Intellectual Property office in China is gearing up to have 18 000 examiners by 2018 to enable it to deal with a workload of about 1,3 million patent applications annually.
The growth of bulk filing services has prompted FICPI’s Professional Excellence Commission (“PEC”) to look at alternative business models. Steven Leach prepared a paper which will be very useful getting feedback from the ExCo on this issue and help the profession position itself in a changing IP environment.
As previously reported in the FICPI News, a FICPI delegation visited the Indian Patent Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Japanese Patent Office as well as the State Intellectual Property Office in China to promote co‑operation between FICPI and those bodies.
The number of ExCo meetings in the next term will be reduced to one per year, to help to keep FICPI’s expenses under control.
The Bureau is currently in discussions with the national groups in Finland, Denmark and Portugal about the FICPI structure in those countries, and with the Patentanwaltskammer regarding the fee structure for FICPI's German members.
FICPI currently has provisional sections in Malaysia, Russia, Romania, Turkey and Poland. At least three of those provisional sections are ready to become fully independent sections.
The SEAD courses in Malaysia will continue for another two years. Little progress has been made on a SEAD course in India; funding continues to be a problem.
Progress and planning continues for the Cape Town Congress in April 2015. The theme of the Congress will be “Adapt to Advance”. Details will become available on the FICPI website soon.
The Barcelona 15th Open Forum will take place from 5 to 8 November, 2014. We look forward to seeing you there.
To read the complete report from Bastiaan, please click here.
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Eric LeForestier
President, CET
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CET Report
The CET has been very busy since the Sorrento ExCo. Eric LeForestier, President of the CET, reported on the CET activities. Eric’s complete report is available here; highlights of the report are included in this article.
In January, the CET held a meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, to continue the planning for the Kyoto ExCo and the 15th Open Forum in Barcelona. The location, which included an unplanned lack of Internet service, was perfect for the thinking and planning that had to be done.
The CET continued its participation in the official visits to IP Offices in Asia and Europe, and in a number of other meetings with IP officials. These visits included the EPO 40th anniversary celebrations in Munich in October 2013; meetings in November with the WIPO Standing Committee on Trademarks and Designs (SCT) in Geneva; a meeting with the EPO Boards of Appeals; a meeting of the SACEPO Working Party on Rules in Munich; the third IT Roadmap User Consultation Workshop; a new series of Workshops of the Economic and Scientific Advisory Board of EPO, dedicated to the Unitary Patent Package; an Espacenet meeting; the 20th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Patent Law (SCP); in February, another meeting of the SACEPO Working Party on Rules in Munich; and in March a new session of the SCT in Geneva.
At each of these meetings, FICPI was there to represent the interests of its members and their clients; reports on these meetings are or will be available on the FICPI website as information papers. Many of the CET submissions find their origin in the discussions occurring at these meetings.
In the period between the Cartagena ExCo and the Sorrento ExCo, the CET submitted 17 official position papers and submissions, and since the Sorrento ExCo, the CET has submitted another six official position papers. Four of these were made to OHIM, one to the EPO and one to the Preparatory Committee dealing with the Unified Patent Court in Europe.
To improve the flow of information to our members and to allow ExCo delegates to focus on the positions taken or to be taken by FICPI, some CET papers are published directly on the FICPI website as information papers.
As reported below, among the submissions prepared by the CET was a letter to the Indian Patent Office, regarding fees for sequence listings in biotech patents, and pushing toward removal of these discriminatory fees. Other submissions included comments on the new Guidelines for the examination of pharma patent applications in India; a letter to OHIM regarding FICPI’s observer status; a paper on translation and transliteration of WhoIs information for facilitating identification of fraudulent domain name owners; and a position paper on trademarks filed in black and white and grey-scale.
The reduction in the number of ExCo meetings for the term 2015-2018 presents challenges to the CET, which must deal with the ever-accelerating rhythm of changes that the authorities want to bring to our IP system. One of the main issues to be dealt with by the CET in the coming months will be developments in respect of the Unified Patent Court and the Community Patent.
The complete report from Eric is available here.
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Sent by FICPI - Holbeinstrasse 36-38, 4003 Basel, Switzerland
Authorized by Doug Deeth, President of Communications Commission.
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