European And Asian IP Heads Meet In Hong Kong

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

02 February 2005

A two day conference, entitled the "Europe-Asia Heads of Intellectual Property Offices Conference" began yesterday in Hong Kong.

The meeting was jointly organised by the European Patent Office and the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, and brought together heads of IP offices from the EPO, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the United States, the Mainland, Hong Kong and other Asian regions, providing a platform for networking and a basis for sharing ideas and solving problems.

Speaking at the launch of the conference, president of the Legislative Council (Legco), Rita Fan explained that:

"Strong IP protection reduces investment risk and thus enhances investor confidence. Attracting investors to develop locally-based research and development as well as creative industries can help Asian economies create a more sustainable base for longer-term economic development."

She went on to add:

"This is one of the benefits of under-pinning our economic development with a strong IP protection regime."

The conference took place ahead of the public forum planned by the Hong Kong Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau for next weekend, which will discuss ways in which the SAR's copyright protection laws can be improved.

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