For the Inter-American Association of Intellectual Property (ASIPI) and in particular for the undersigned, it is a real pleasure to invite you to participate in the XVIth Work Sessions and Administrative Council that will take place in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, from October 30th to November 2nd, 2011.
Bolivia is a country which is in the path of a sustained development based on important mineral resources and an agricultural sector which is a role model in South America. In particular, Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the epicenter of this agroindustrial and livestock development, in vast border territories with Brazil and the Republic of Argentina and with a way out to the Atlantic Ocean through the Parana River to the port of Montevideo, Uruguay. This unbeatable geographical location has made of Santa Cruz a development center and the axis of the county’s modernization and globalization. We are sure that Santa Cruz de la Sierra will be an important discovery and a fruitful experience for all the attendees of this event.
For these Work Sessions, we have designed an academic program which meets the criteria and the challenges we have set in ASIPI in the sense of strengthening and broadening our position and knowledge in the subject matter of intellectual property throughout the Americas. We will start with a panel on the dichotomy between regulatory aspects vs. trademark law in which we will deal with issues such as the proposal of different regulations to restrict or prohibit the use of trademarks on packaging of different industry sectors, like tobacco, liquors and food, consequently resulting, among others, in the confusion of the consuming public and the dilution of the trademark.
We will continue with the issue of protection to folklore and crafts as economic development factors; the patentability of inventions involving software in Latin American legislations and in US and European jurisprudence; the concerns of trademark owners in relation to the new domain extensions that ICANN is in the process of introducing; the current and future marketing trends for firms providing Intellectual Property services; the application and validity of collective trademarks; the limitations and exceptions to copyright in the digital sphere in which we will analyze the problem known as “blanket license” and, we will conclude with a discussion with national registrars of different countries dealing with the current state of operation of the Trademark Offices of the region.
In addition to this interesting academic program, we have structured a social program which will allow you to get into the Bolivian culture and enjoy its landscapes and its exuberant nature in a tropical weather and a few meters at sea level.
As you see, there are multiple reasons to join us in our XVIth Work Sessions and Administrative Council and we hope to have the opportunity to give you a warm welcome to Santa Cruz de la Sierra!
Fernando Triana
President ASIPI
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