The European Industrial Property Forum

The European Industrial Property Forum

Once again this year, the Association for the Defense of Trademarks (ANDEMA) brought together more than 300 experts in the field of industrial property (IP) in Barcelona, with the support of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), at the European Industrial Property Forum.

This event has established itself in its third year as a key date in the industrial property sector calendar, with the participation of several leading representatives from the institutions responsible for IP management, both nationally and internationally. Among them, it is worth highlighting the presence of Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), João Negrão, Executive Director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and Jordi Hereu, Minister of Industry and Tourism of the Government of Spain. Not only was the public sector represented, but private sector companies such as HP, Xiaomi, Inditex, and TOUS also participated, to name just a few examples.

The aim of this important event was to address current and future challenges and opportunities through debate and reflection among all the stakeholders involved. Ten round tables, with around 60 speakers, addressed topics such as police coordination, essential patents, challenges in the digital environment, unfair competition, and the role of the media in defending industrial property, among others.

Another of the highlights of this year's edition was the fight against counterfeiting, a type of crime with dire consequences for the consumer industry, employment, and the economy as a whole, as well as for the safety and health of consumers and the environment, given that the criminal networks that manufacture counterfeit products use toxic materials and evade the exhaustive quality controls required of the industry as a whole.

During the Forum, the director of the OEPM, Elisa Rodríguez, and its president and undersecretary of Industry and Tourism, Pablo Garde, presented the annual campaign that seeks to raise awareness among the population of the enormous risks involved in consuming counterfeit products.

More information

III Foro Europeo de PI | Andema