Conference Report
WARSAW - Conference Report
Taking place for the first time in one of the new EU member states, the 25th Annual Conference of ECTA was held in Warsaw, Poland from June 7 to 10, 2006. Also for the first time, the conference itself was presented in a theatre (Teatr Polski) and took the form of a “Play in Three acts”.
The conference was attended by 592 delegates and 85 accompanying persons, and began on June 7 with meetings of the various ECTA committees, at the main conference hotel. Some committees saw changes in chairmanship, including the Law and Publications committees. Dietrich Ohlgart (DE) and Leo Kooy (NL), both long-serving chairmen were warmly thanked and applauded by the Council for their respective contributions over many years. Also attending committee meetings on this occasion were João Miranda de Sousa and Paul Maier (OHIM), Ernesto Rubio and Grégoire Bisson (WIPO) as special guests.
These meetings were followed by the 50th Council Meeting of the Association, as well as by an instructive e-business Workshop, led by the representatives of OHIM and in particular Etienne Sanz de Acedo.
In the evening, a Welcome party took place in the courtyard, bars and cellar of the Klub Harenda, where delegates enjoyed a barbecue and dancing until the early hours.
On June 8, at the Annual General Meeting of the Association, the formal business and elections were conducted and it was announced that newly elected to the ECTA Council was Martin Gutwillinger (LU), replacing John Bleyer, a founder member of ECTA, who retired from Council after 25 years’ service. He was warmly thanked and congratulated by the President.
The conference proper began in the unique surroundings of the Teatr Polski, a beautiful setting where full use was made for the entire meeting of its many facilities, including foyer, auditorium, comfortable seating, private boxes, revolving stage, dressing rooms and more! In keeping with the setting, the speakers were “Actors” and the chairmen “Stage Managers”. These unusual roles led to some “award-winning” performances by the speakers and participants.
The Play commenced with introductory speeches first by the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Jaroslaw Kulikowski, who expressed in emotional terms his pride and joy in welcoming guests from all over the world to his home city – leading to spontaneous applause; by Pawel Poncyljusz, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy; and by Max Oker-Blom, President of ECTA.
A Prologue was performed by Wubbo de Boer (ES) and Ernesto Rubio (CH), on the roles of OHIM and WIPO, respectively.
The first Act of the Play was entitled “Geographical Indications and other rights: War or Peace?” In the first Scene, an update of the situation of trade marks versus geographical indications was given by Dietrich Ohlgart (DE) and in the second, an update on the situation of geographical indications versus generic terms, by Susie Stærk Ekstrand (DK), both under the stage management of Max Oker-Blom (FI).
Under a new procedure, the presentations were followed by a contribution by a Critic, in the first case a role played by Evelyne Roux (FR).
The second Act, entitled Enforcement of IP Rights: the Choice of Weapons – began with Scenes relating to the EC Directive harmonising the Enforcement of IP rights, the draft Directive aimed at ensuring enforcement through criminal sanctions, and ended with one concerned with the Regulation on border measures. The Actors were respectively Marius Schneider (BE), Dorota Rzazewska (PL), László Bérczes (HU) and Jean-Baptiste Thial de Bordenave (FR), the Stage Manager Ignacio Diez de Rivera Elzaburu (ES) and the Critic Christophe Ronse (BE).
The strong opinions of the Actors led to challenges from the audience. Members were concerned that criminal sanctions in respect of IP rights should not be extended to issues other than the most serious and damaging ones.
In the evening, all delegates and guests proceeded to Lazienki Krolewskie, where a buffet dinner was enjoyed on the terrace of the Palace on the Water, preceded by a Chopin piano concert by Krzyszlof Jablonski. The programme included the Warsaw Concerto, as well as an unexpected accompaniment by a group of passing peacocks. The interior of the palace itself was admired as the night grew colder, notably the exquisite ballroom, where a harpist continued the musical theme.
On 9 June, the Play continued with Act 3: The IP Decision process or Trial. Scene one concerned the strategies for trade mark enforcement in the EU and Scene two Case law harmonisation in Europe. Under the relaxed Stage management of Alexander von Mühlendahl (DE), the Actors were Jean-Jo Evrard (BE), Annette Kur (DE), Isabelle Leroux (FR) and Pier Luigi Rongaglia (IT). The Critic was Roland Kunze (DE) and a further Scene entitled the Role of the European institutions was performed by Erik Nooteboom (NL). All artists performed most capably.
Scene three took the form of a review of recent case law regarding CFI and ECJ decisions, relating in particular to questions of public interest, under the Stage management of Andrzej Kacperski (PL). The Actors were Geoffrey Hobbs QC (GB) and Vincent O’Reilly (IR), whose contrasting contributions kept the audience well entertained. Mr. Hobbs lamented in particular a lack of consistency in the decisions of the courts and the ECJ’s unwillingness to regard even MATRAZEN for mattresses as “descriptive without frontiers”.
The Critic in respect of this scene was João Paulo Mioludo (PT).
Concluding the theatrical part of the conference was the Grand Finale, under the Stage management of Mireia Curell (ES), ECTA’s President Elect. This concerned whether the CTM system was still appropriate in the extended EU, a controversial subject. The Actors were François Griesmar (CH) and Fabio Angelini (IT) and the Critic Stephen James (GB). The Actors made their points with good humour and the Critic’s approach was in similar vein – once the subject had been seriously debated. A number of questions and contributions from the auditorium brought the proceeding to a close.
All participants proceeded in the evening to the closing gala dinner at Aula Politechniki. The interior of this important building provided a stunning setting for the final celebration, with excellent food, wine and entertainment (including the teaching of the polonaise). As well as dancing late into the night to an excellent band, a giant screen showed intermittently the progress of the Polish team in its first match of the current World Cup. To the disappointment of all, they were not the victors.
During the closing festivities, a brief speech was made by the retiring President, Max Oker-Blom, in which he welcomed his successor Mireia Curell as the Association’s first female President. In turn, Mireia offered warm congratulations to Max upon the completion of his stimulating term as President.
After the conference, delegates had the option of a Saturday excursion on the Romantic Tour to Chopin’s birthplace, or a two-day excursion to Krakow and other important Polish landmarks south of Warsaw. The weather was kind for both excursions and these were much enjoyed by all who took part – many making the most of a first visit to Poland.
All agreed that the organisers deserved congratulations upon a very successful conference – ECTA Warsaw 2006. With renewed thanks to our hosts and all the participants, we now look ahead to Deauville, France from 20-23 June 2007.
Keith Havelock ECTA Secretary General