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International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property

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Type: Non-Profit
Industry: Intellectual Property
Founded: 1897
Headquarters: AIPPI General Secretariat

Tödistrasse 16 P.O. Box 8027 Zurich

Country: Switzerland
Website: www.aippi.org
Facebook: AIPPI
Twitter: @AIPPI_ORG
Key People
Yoon Bae Kim, President
John Bochnovic, Vice-President
Stephan Freischem, Secretary General

International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) derived from its French name Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle is an international, non-profit organization composed of professionals and entities in private, public and academics engaged in the field of Intellectual Property. The organization's primary objective is to develop and improve the global intellectual property protection of copyrights, designs, trademarks, trade names, patents and other intellectual property rights. The organization also aims to eradicate illegal and unfair business and trade practices. Since its establishment, AIPPI has adopted 700 Resolutions that were presented to international governmental organizations, World Intellectual Property Organization. Yoon-Bae Kim is the current president of the AIPPI and its' headquarters is located in Zurich, Switzerland.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

In 1983, the Paris Convention for Intellectual Property Rights was signed. Following this significant event was the establishment of AIPPI on May 8, 1897 in Brussels by experts in the field of intellectual property. The organization conducted annual congresses and reunions, however its activities were interrupted by the World War 1 in 1914. Eugen Blum, a Swiss Patent Attorney, restored AIPPI in 1925 in Switzerland.[2]

Organizational Structure[edit | edit source]

AIPPI's membership is comprised of corporations and individuals in different professions, such as engineers, judges, lawyers, patent lawyers, scientists and patent lawyers who are actively engaged and interested in issues related to intellectual property rights and protection. These members belong to one of the 64 National Groups or Regional Group. Independent members from countries without an existing AIPPI Group are affiliated with the international organization. AIPPI has four primary international bodies, which include:[3]

  • General Assembly- delegated to handle the adoption and modification of statutes, all members has the right to participate
  • Executive Committee-the principal decision making body, composed of around 300 delegates from the different groups of AIPPI
  • Council of Presidents-is composed of AIPPI group presidents and representatives of independent members
  • Bureau-is lead by the president of AIPPI, along with the vice-president, the secretary general, the reporter general, treasurer general, and their deputies and assistants who supervise the activities of the organization.

The organization is also composed of a General Secretariat and Staff with different committees including the Programme Committee, Finance Advisory Committee, Nominating Committee, Communications Committee and Membership Committee.

ICANN Involvement[edit | edit source]

Q160 ICANN Task Force[edit | edit source]

The Q160 ICANN Task Force is a special committee of AIPPI that was tasked to monitor, evaluate, and provide advice regarding specific issues or policies raised by ICANN that would impact the interests of the association. The committee is also responsible for developing proposals to solve issues, establish contacts, represent the voice and interests of AIPPI, and seek support within ICANN's various bodies, most particularly within the IP Constituency of the GNSO.[4]

Most of the staff and members of Q160 ICANN Task Force are also members of the IP Constituency, such Guillermo Carey, former Chairman of Q160 in 2004, who also served as Intellectual Property Constituency Representative to the Names Council of the DNSO;[5] Mark Partridge, who served as Chairman of the Committee in 2009 and as Member of ICANN's IRT;[6] Jane Mutimear, current co-Chairman of Q-160, was also elected President of the IP Constituency for 2002-2003 and then as Vice-President from 2003-2005.[7][8]

Other members of AIPPI, such as Jannik Skou, also served as member of the IP Constituency. He is active in providing the Internet community with important information and opinions about ICANN issues, along with Dr. Torsten Bettinger, the Q160 Secretary.[9] Former ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush also served as a former President of AIPPI-NZ. Thrush has been actively involved with ICANN since its beginnings in 1998. During his term as president of AIPPI-NZ, he co-chaired a pre-formation meeting of the IPC at the ICANN 25 Meeting in Wellington, New Zealand.[10]

Feedback/Report on ICANN Issues[edit | edit source]

On March 15, 2000, AIPPI welcomed the European Commission's proposal to create the .eu TLD to serve the needs of European businesses and consumers. The organization suggested that the ICANN UDRP should be used by the .eu registry to protect trademark owners from cyber criminals. It also supported the implementation of second level domains for the .eu TLD. AIPPI believed that it would reduce problems between competing trademark owners. Overall, the organization emphasized the need for a sufficient mechanism to protect intellectual property rights-holders from possible abuse.[11]

On June 8, 2001, AIPPI commented that the WIPO2 Report was a success because ICANN decided to adopt and implement the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy to regulate IP infringements made in gTLD registration. AIPPI made the following comments and suggestions:

  • Cases filed under the UDRP should be limited to those where a clear abuse of registration happened and maintain simple system of rules and regulations.
  • Regulations related to the Domain Name System should not be use to change intellectual property laws worldwide, but just to provide additional rights to property owners.
  • Regarding the issue on International Non-Proprietary Names, AIPPI pointed out that protection should only be extended when an increased number of abusive registrations requires a solution. In addition, the organization also expressed that it did not support restrictions on domain names for INNs.
  • AIPPI did not support total restriction on domain name registration for international governmental organizations.
  • On issues related to personal names, AIPPI believed that the current UDRP system should remain unchanged, as individuals would still be able to file a case against an entity if he or she could establish proof that the name was also a trademark.
  • AIPPI did not support any measure to implement protections related to the names of places or countries, but supported extending the UDRP to protect trade names.
  • The organization suggested that the current information on the Whois database should remain in record and suggested that intellectual property owners and enforcement agencies should have access to the database.[12]

The current Chairman of AIPPI Q160, Mathew Swinn, wrote an article informing the Internet community about the ICANN Board's approval of the New gTLD Program on June 20, 2011. Swinn provided significant details about the program, including the timetable and launch of the global communication program, which aims to provide the public with information about opportunities of new gTLD. He also explained that although the new gTLD program provides opportunities, there are risks for brand owners and thus it is important for them to learn about the IP Protection mechanisms discussed in the Applicant Guidebook, including the availability of the Trademark Clearinghouse and the strategies on how to effectively deal with any issues related to the introduction of new gTLDs.[13]

References[edit | edit source]

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