Patent trade mark attorneys descended on Singapore to attend the Asian Patent Attorneys Association’s (APAA) 55th Council Meeting to discuss the latest intellectual property (IP) developments influencing the region.
APAA plays a large role advocating IP protection. The association is made up of 17 countries with major players including Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. ‘Attending APAA’s conference is important because it provides the opportunity to work very closely with patent attorneys from around the world,’ said Brett Connor, Partner, Freehills Trade Mark & Patent Attorneys. ‘About one third of participants are from outside the region from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany,’ continued Brett.
Brett has a long relationship with APAA spanning 17 years and is currently on the Australian patent committee. ‘The main purpose of the group is to educate attendees on the nuances of the IP laws (copyright, designs, trade marks and patents) in each jurisdiction,’ said Brett.
IP issues of global significance
The hot topic of this year’s conference was patent attorney privilege as it extends to local practitioners and overseas practitioners. ‘The most significant learning from the conference was realising that not all countries recognise patent attorney or even legal professional privilege over communications between client and adviser in their own country,’ said Brett. ‘Even fewer mutually recognise correspondence with practitioners advising in another country. This is important when litigation is being run in a number of jurisdictions.’
One of the roles IP professionals globally must achieve is to obtain IP protection and enforce those rights for their clients at a reasonable cost. ‘The challenges patentees faced related to getting good quality service, the cost of obtaining protection and the enforceability of the protection,’ concluded Brett.
More information
Freehills Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys has a great deal of experience managing patent and trade mark portfolios globally including the Asian region. We would be willing to assist you with your portfolio management requirements.
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