SWEDISH NATIONAL GROUP OF AIPPI Activity Report 2009

Transcription

1 SWEDISH NATIONAL GROUP OF AIPPI Activity Report 2009 The Swedish National Group of AIPPI, below named AIPPI Sweden, is an integrated part of the Swedish Association for the Protection of Industrial Property (SFIR). Thus, AIPPI Sweden and SFIR constitute one legal entity and the work of AIPPI Sweden is carried out within the framework of SFIR, even though not all SFIR members are members of AIPPI Sweden and AIPPI Sweden has its own agenda. The Executive Committee members of AIPPI Sweden participate in the board meetings of SFIR. SFIR had approximately 550 members and there were approximately 250 members of AIPPI Sweden as of 31 December, The 2009 activities have included conferences, seminars, and lectures on current intellectual property matters, as well as consultations both in writing and at meetings with the Swedish Government regarding various IP related matters on national level, EU level and multilateral level in WIPO. The following Activity Report thus reflects what has been achieved during Subject groups Since 2003, there are five groups covering respectively patents (headed by Peter Sande, Sandart & Partners Advokatbyrå), trademarks (headed by Anders Kylhammar, Sandart & Partners Advokatbyrå), designs (headed by Peter Adamsson, Sandart & Partners Advokatbyrå), copyright (headed by Per Jonas Nordell, Universities of Stockholm and Lund) and TRIPS (headed by Ivan Hjertman, IP Interface AB). The groups work in an informal way and the groups constitute a forum for general discussions on issues within their respective fields. The groups also focus on participating in answering AIPPI Working Questions and different AIPPI questionnaires. The groups also function as a forum where younger people in the profession could get involved in matters that they are specifically interested in. During the year the subject groups have, among other things, been involved in the consultations to the Ministry of Justice mentioned below. Seminars and conferences In connection to the annual SFIR seminar on Intellectual Property Case Law on January 13-14, Sweden s first AIPPI Day was arranged. The AIPPI Day was partly parallel to the second SFIR seminar day, and held three sessions with topics connected to Working Questions. Q210 Protection of major

2 sports events and associated commercial activities through trade marks and other IPRs, Q194 The impact of co-ownership of intellectual property rights on their exploitation and Q202 The impact of public health issues on exclusive patent rights. International speakers were: in Q210 Advokat and Assistant Reporter General of AIPPI Nicolai Lindgreen, in Q194 Avocat a la cour and Deputy Reporter General of AIPPI Dariusz Szleper and in Q202 European Patent Attorney Beat Rauber, F. Hoffman-La Roche, Ltd. Approximately 20 persons participated in the AIPPI Day. On March 27, the Nordic Associations for the Protection of Industrial Property held a meeting in Copenhagen on The protection of business names and other trade signs. Members of SFIR and of AIPPI attended the meeting. At the Annual Meeting for SFIR and for AIPPI Sweden on May 5, a seminar was held on Community Trade Marks where are we and where are we going? Speakers were Claes Granmar, Stockholm University, Lars Pehrson, Stockholm University, Richard Wessman, Uppsala University, Liselott Enström, Advokatfirman Lindahl, Anders Kylhammar, Sandart & Partners, and David Thomas Keeling, OHIM Board of Appeals. Approximately 50 participants attended the Annual Meeting and 85 participants attended the seminar. On August 31, the association held a meeting on the subject of Amendment of patent claims in revocation proceedings before civil courts. The meeting discussed how different countries have implemented EPC Speakers were Amund Brede Svendsen, Advokatfirmaet Grette, Ella Mikkola, Bird & Bird, Eskil Waage, European Commission, Isabelle Romet, Véron et Associés, Jan Brinkhof, Brinkhof, Jochen Pagenberg, Bardehle Pagenberg, Marianne Levin, Stockholm University, Morag Macdonald, Bird & Bird, Nicolai Lindgreen, Kromann Reumert, and Örjan Grundén, Bird & Bird. A reception was held after the meeting, to celebrate the 75 th birthday of Örjan Grundén, Member of Honour of SFIR and AIPPI, and senior counsel of Bird & Bird. Approximately 85 persons participated in the seminar. Consultations by the Swedish Ministry of Justice SFIR/AIPPI has during the year filed submissions with its opinion on the following consultations from the Swedish Ministry of Justice. - Proposal from Norway regarding amendments of the Madrid system for international registration of marks (WIPO document MM/LD/WG/2) - The Ministry Publication (Publication Ds 2009:2) on protected geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs. - Administrative aspects on Authorisation of patent attorneys: Proposal regarding the organisation of a governmental authorisation of patent attorneys. SFIR/AIPPI has been invited by the Ministry of Justice to attend hearings regarding developments in the work on the future European patent system, including an EU patent and a European Patent Litigation system. 2

3 SFIR/AIPPI has also been invited to answer questions from the appointed inquiry on special measures for certain court cases. The Association s answers on the consultations are published at Working Questions and Committees, and Special Committees AIPPI Sweden has worked with the four Working Questions on the agenda at the Executive Committee Meeting in Buenos Aires in October 2009: Q194 The Impact of Co-Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights on their Exploitation Working group: Elsa Arbrandt, Lydia Lundstedt, Sara Ulfsdotter (representative within working committee), Jonas Westerberg, Sanna Wolk. Q208 Border Measures and other Means of Customs Intervention against Infringers Working group: Gunnar Karnell (representative within working committee), Sara Sparring, Per Svanteson, Katarina Söderberg, Ann-Charlotte Söderlund, Henrik Wistam, Helena Östblom. Q209 Selection inventions the Inventive Step Requirement, other Patentability Criteria, and Scope of Protection Working group: Dag Hedefält (representative within working committee), Ida Christensen, Katarina Dahlenborg, Ulf Dahlgren, Bengt Domeij, Ivan Hjertman, Birgitta Larsson, Cecilia Tham. Q210 The Protection of Major Sports Events and associated commercial activities through Trademarks and Other IPR Working group: Christina Berggren (representative within working committee), Carl Fhager, Kristian Fredrikson, Claes Granmar, Lena Seratelius, Johan Starell. On 10 February, a meeting was held, where the Swedish reports were discussed before they were finalised and submitted to the General Secretariat of AIPPI. All members of AIPPI Sweden and SFIR were invited. The Working Questions have been of great interest to the members and the questionnaire answers have been thoroughly prepared and discussed both within the working groups and at the meeting. The Swedish Executive Committee members attended the Executive Committee Meeting in Buenos Aires, and the resolutions adopted there were provided to 36 interested Swedish parties, including the Swedish Ministry of Justice and the Swedish Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communication. In addition, the Q210 resolution was distributed to 10 sport associations. AIPPI Sweden is represented in four Special Committees, namely Q94 WTO/TRIPS: Ivan Hjertman, Chair, Q184 Bilateral, Trilateral and Other Free Trade Agreements Worldwide: Marianne Levin, Q185, Enforcement of IP rights: Bo Johansson, and Q199, Client Privilege in Intellectual Property Advice: Margareta Linderoth. 3

4 Also, AIPPI Sweden is represented in Bureau Advisory Committee Q211, Committee on the use of languages in AIPPI by Ivan Hjertman (more information below). During winter of 2009/10, AIPPI Sweden appointed reporters that started working on the questionnaires to be answered early in 2010, before the Paris Congress. These persons are Dag Hedefält for Q 204P Liability for contributory infringement of IPRs certain aspects of patent infringement, Jonas Westerberg for Q 213 The person skilled in the art in the context of the inventive step requirement in patent law, Christina Berggren for Q 214 Protection against the dilution of a trade mark, Marianne Levin for Q 215 Protection of trade secrets through IP and unfair competition law, and Sanna Wolk for Q 216 Exceptions to copyright protection and the permitted uses of copyright works in the hi-tech and digital sectors. Other business At the Executive Committee Meeting in Buenos Aires, Christina Berggren, MAQS, participated in the preparatory work and in the panel of the workshop IP and the global financial crisis. Also, Ulf Dahlgren, Advokatfirman Lindahl, chaired the Q209 Working Committee in Buenos Aires. AIPPI Sweden has, with the support of the groups in Denmark, Finland and Norway, continued to work with to issues regarding the AIPPI statutes. One of the issues concerns who shall have the right to vote, especially in the Council of Presidents but also in the Executive Committee. Lately, the number of persons with the right to vote in these bodies has increased. Therefore, AIPPI Sweden has - with support from the groups in Denmark, Finland and Norway - commented on the voting procedure to the Bureau. In Buenos Aires, these comments were also distributed to all members of the Council of Presidents. The second issue where AIPPI Sweden is very active can be expressed as the organisation s linguistic regime mainly the simultaneous translation from English, German, French and Spanish arranged at the Executive Committee Meetings and Congresses. These translations are very costly and are used by fewer participants for every year. This has brought the Bureau into appointing a Special Committee, Bureau Advisory Committee Q211, Committee on the use of languages in AIPPI. This Committee will deal with the general language issue within AIPPI, including not only the simultaneous translations but also the language of meetings in a more general term, the need of translating working documents, etc. The Japanese AIPPI group has conducted a questionnaire on secret patent applications. AIPPI Sweden has answered this questionnaire. In anticipation of the Paris Congress, the Organising Committee has asked the European AIPPI groups to suggest topics for workshops. AIPPI Sweden 4

5 has assisted in this issue, both via and by attending a meeting in Paris. AIPPI Sweden Executive Committee The Executive Committee members of AIPPI Sweden have met regularly. In 2009, the Swedish ExCo group held 7 meetings. AIPPI Sweden s Executive Committee has comprised of the following persons, who were re-elected at the Annual Meeting on May 5, 2009: Ivan Hjertman (President of AIPPI Sweden), Christina Berggren, Håkan Borgenhäll (Vice President)l, Ulf Dahlgren, Bo Davidsson (Treasurer), Gunnar Karnell, Marianne Levin, Dag Hedefält and Louise Jonshammar (Secretary). During fall of 2009 secretary Louise Jonshammar has been on maternity leave. In her place, Sara Ulfsdotter has performed the secretarial duties. Since Louise s return, Sara has been appointed assistant secretary by the Swedish Executive Committee. Stockholm April 2010 Louise Jonshammar Secretary 5