Published : Oct. 22, 2012 - 19:38
Thierry Calame
One of the missions of AIPPI is to achieve the harmonization and improvement of intellectual property laws worldwide by conducting comparative legal research and formulating recommendations to entities charged with developing, interpreting or enforcing IP laws.
These recommendations are referred to as the resolutions, which, because of the representative nature of the membership of AIPPI, and its working methods, are intended to be a truly worldwide answer to an intellectual property issue of current concern.
Over 700 resolutions have been passed by AIPPI to date. These Resolutions are provided to significant governmental organizations, such as WIPO, WTO and National Patent and Trademark Offices. In this way AIPPI seeks to influence national or treaty policies on intellectual property.
Each year, AIPPI studies four issues of current concern. The work of researching and formulating the Resolutions is a detailed process, the goal of which is to put forth well thought out resolutions that consider the views of all of the national groups.
The national groups respond to a questionnaire issued by the reporter general’s team. The reporters synthesize the national groups’ reports into a summary report. A working committee composed of delegates from each national group then prepares a draft resolution which is debated and adopted during the congress.
To allow AIPPI to deal promptly and effectively with IP matters requiring action outside the regular cycle for working questions, AIPPI also has standing committees. These committees study questions of emerging or particular urgency and monitor developments in all areas of IP law.
The members of standing committees represent AIPPI in various international fora, including WIPO standing committees and other meetings of GOs and NGOs, thereby increasing AIPPI’s presence and visibility in those fora. They also participate in public consultations or other projects where it is necessary to study documents and formulate the opinion of AIPPI on the basis of previous resolutions before the next annual meeting. There are over 20 standing committees in place.
A protocol governs the work of special committees, and their output typically is by way of reports, recommendations or proposed resolutions.
The work of a special committee may precipitate or evolve into working questions, and conversely, the output of a working question may lend itself to ongoing work by an existing special committee or a new special committee may be set up for this purpose.
By Thierry Calame, Reporter General, AIPPI