Since 2002, the intellectual property (IP) industry has seen rapid growth, with a surge in IP applications and ownership worldwide. Today, in an increasingly complex and uncertain global economic environment, IP development faces both new challenges and opportunities. This evolving landscape is expected to shape a more balanced system of intellectual property protection. As a significant international organization dedicated to advancing and harmonizing global IP laws, AIPPI is leveraging its annual World Congress to offer a platform for global stakeholders to discuss the latest trends and concepts in intellectual property, ultimately strengthening global cooperation on intellectual property and fostering global technological innovation.
From October 19 to 22 this year, the AIPPI World Congress will be hosted in China for the first time, marking a notable acknowledgment of China's efforts in bolstering IP protection, refining its legal framework, and improving management systems. Ahead of the event, we had the privilege of speaking with Ms. Regina Quek, the first deputy secretary-general of AIPPI. She shared exclusive insights into the highlights of the upcoming AIPPI Hangzhou Conference, AIPPI’s pivotal role in promoting international IP cooperation, and how this event is poised to further drive the growth of IP both in China and globally.
Q: Would you please introduce yourself and also your work experience and current responsibilities in AIPPI?
Regina Quek: My name is Regina Quek. I am from Singapore and am head of my firm One Legal LLC. I established my firm together with my corporate partner almost 20 years ago and I have worked in IP for more than 32 years. My firm handles all types of IP work – patent, trademark, designs and also copyright advisory work. I am a lawyer by training and handle IP disputes as well as strategic advisory work for my clients.
I currently serve as First Deputy Secretary General of AIPPI and I am a member of the Bureau of AIPPI. The Bureau is the leadership team that runs AIPPI. We are divided into 3 teams – the Secretary General Team, the Presidential Team and the Reporter General Team. Broadly speaking, the Reporter General Team handles the scientific work of AIPPI, the Presidential Team handles most of the external representation duties of AIPPI, and the Secretary General Team handles the management and administration of AIPPI for its members.
Our roles are separate yet complementary and work holistically for the good governance, administration, and contribution of the Association for the good of our members and also to the wider IP community.
AIPPI is an international IP association of more than 126 years standing, that is involved with and works for the protection of intellectual property and the international harmonization of IP laws.
Every year, AIPPI as an association makes an in-depth study of 4 legal questions on an international level – by all our national groups. These questions will typically cover different IP rights. The output of the studies – the study reports – are published on our website and made available to our members. They are an invaluable repository of information on the national laws of our member countries.
The study reports are then summarized into position papers which are worked on and refined by our members and finally disseminated to national law/governmental institutions of different countries and NGOs.
AIPPI also maintains many standing committees who work and research in specific areas of intellectual property. By our diverse membership and the work that we do, we contribute to the wealth of knowledge of IP laws around the world; and also collaborate and contribute to the work of GOs and NGOs in this space.
In this way we strive to remain on the pulse of legal and business trends and relevant to our members and to the community amidst a rapidly changing business and IP landscape.
Q: From the choice of venue, it can be seen that AIPPI World Congress has a deep relationship with Asia in recent years. Is this related to the development of intellectual property in Asia? Do you see any trends from that perspective?
Regina Quek: AIPPI is an international IP association, and we draw our membership of more than 8,500 members from more than 66 countries and territories.
To properly reflect the diversity of our membership, the AIPPI Congresses are hosted in different parts of the world. In the post Covid years, we have hosted our Congress in San Francisco (North America in 2022); and in Istanbul (Türkiye in 2023) – which is a city uniquely situated in both the continents of Europe and Asia.
We also have annual MidTerm meetings in February of each year – and these MidTerm meetings will be held in a location, situated in a different continent from where the annual congress will be held that year.
For example – the Midterm meeting in 2024 was held in Madrid, with the Congress of 2024 to be held in Hangzhou China. The Midterm meeting in Feb 2025 will be held in Zagreb, with the 2025 Congress to be held in Yokohama, Japan.
The locations of our Congresses are chosen many years in advance, so as to reflect the growing importance of IP in these countries.
AIPPI has large and important national groups in both China and Japan that is also reflective of the importance of IP in both these countries and their economies. Both these countries are major and important stakeholders in the international business and IP legal community. We are very glad to host our congress in both these countries.
Q: As a bridge connecting global intellectual property, AIPPI continues to have a profound impact on the development of intellectual property. And this year, this global bridge is particularly focused on China. In your opinion, how will the Congress promote China's intellectual property exchanges and cooperation on a global scale?
Regina Quek: We are expecting larger numbers of attendees from China – from our members who are regular attendees at AIPPI Congresses and also from new members who have joined AIPPI so that they can attend and be a part of the Congress in Hangzhou.
Many of the attendees therefore have not attended an AIPPI international congress. They would have a chance to meet other AIPPI members from other countries and to be able to collaborate closely with their international colleagues.
This will be a good opportunity for our AIPPI members from other parts of the world to meet with these new AIPPI members /attendees that they may not have been able to meet with before – to enhance the opportunities for cooperation and collaboration.
Q: We already know that 2024 AIPPI World Congress will be held in Hangzhou, China. How is the preparation work going on? What kind of expectations do you or AIPPI expect from this annual meeting in Hangzhou?
Regina Quek: The preparation is going well. The work began some years ago because Hangzhou was the intended host of our meeting for 2020. Our Congress schedule was of course interrupted by the pandemic years. As such, the work at hand this time round was to pick up the threads of the preparation that had already begun - and to work toward the time frame for the Congress in Hangzhou in October this year.
We have had a record demand from the exhibitors and our exhibition space at the Hangzhou Congress will be the largest we have had to date. We expect a large turnout from our Asian members – not just from China but also the neighboring Asian countries. This is reflective of the importance of the Asian region in the world of international business and the IP community.
Despite the rather further travel distance– we have also seen very good attendance figures from our members from other parts of the world who are eager to see and experience Asia and to meet with their Asian counterparts.
The scientific program of course is as always, full and topical and relevant.
We have also lined up what we hope are very enjoyable social events for our members – including the spectacular “Impression West Lake” show directed by Zhang Yimou – which is staged on the north bank of West Lake.
We are hopeful therefore of a fruitful and successful conference.
Q: What topics will be highlighted this year?
Regina Quek: There are many topics that will be discussed that broadly cover the various aspects of IPRs.
The issue of enforcement of IPRs is always a hot topic especially amidst a changing environment. This time – we will look at the IPR protection in China for both domestic and international right holders, covering both the administrative and judicial perspectives.
Also discussed will be the concerns of intellectual property infringement on e-commerce platforms and social media in our digital age.
Patent protection is critical to many businesses and some of the new challenges that are being faced will be discussed. One of them is generative AI and its applications. In this congress we will focus on its use in biopharmaceutical research and the issues of patenting AI generated ideas.
Other patent topics that will be discussed is the role of protecting preclinical and clinical trial data in securing regulatory approval for biological medicines; and also, the challenges associated with obtaining (and enforcing) sufficient patent protection for microbiomes.
Design law reform will also be addressed.
Also discussed will be the impact on copyrights of works by the unauthorized use for the training of AI tools, which brings together competing rights of right holders.
Also relevant for international business is the question of exhaustion of trademark rights.
We also have our “AIPPI Cafes” – which are configured as small discussion groups – drawing diverse people together with their common interest on a particular topic on hand.
In addition, there will be the unique opportunity of experiencing a real trial held at a Chinese courtroom during this Congress.
Q: Could you please share with China IP readers some exciting events that attendees should not miss at the 2024 AIPPI World Congress Hangzhou?
Regina Quek: In addition to the above mentioned “Impression West Lake” show, the Young Members group will meet as usual – and our young members committee has planned an exciting program for our young members. After their meeting – they will all be invited to a cruise event on the river.
Another noteworthy event is the “Women in AIPPI” event. Women of AIPPI will be invited to the Silk Museum. As you may be aware, silk production in China started about 4th millennium BC. In this event, our ladies will have the opportunity to learn about and appreciate the history of silk production that is part of the rich cultural heritage of China.
