Following is the opening address to be delivered at the opening ceremony of the 43rd AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress in Seoul on Saturday evening. ― Ed.


On behalf of the entire Bureau of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, I am honored to welcome all of you who have come to attend the 2012 AIPPI World Intellectual Property Congress in Seoul.

Established in 1897, AIPPI has done a wonderful job of protecting intellectual property. AIPPI has contributed to the harmonization of intellectual property worldwide and played significant roles in the development of the IP system on a national and global level. In addition, AIPPI has been greatly interested in building human networks and strengthening ties among members.

AIPPI has 64 national and regional groups worldwide, and approximately 9,000 individual and corporate members hold membership of AIPPI from more than 100 countries. AIPPI is a world-leading non-governmental and non-profit IP association with a long history.

Having 115 years of extensive historical background, AIPPI is facing new challenges today. One challenge I see is that AIPPI is very conservative and bureaucratic ― for example, we have four official languages. We need to adapt, modernize and simplify our bureaucracy.

In an effort to deal with such challenges, we have set up Strategy Task Force to review important issues one by one. I sincerely hope that the efforts made by the Strategy Task Force are realized in the not-too-distant future and contribute to the development of AIPPI in the long run.

In the meantime, I would also like to share my personal observation as an IP professional on current world IP issues. The IP protection system has developed and improved much in the last 100 years; however, it has been almost only in the protectionist direction and there has not been enough concern for balance. If the IP system stays just protectionist, it could cause some serious imbalance ― between IP holders and the general public, large corporations like conglomerates and small and medium-sized companies, and in the bigger picture, between rich countries and poor countries. I think it is time for us to revisit the whole picture of intellectual property to define IP-related issues and study possible solutions.

Approximately 60 percent of IP filings worldwide are found right here in Northeast Asia where China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea are located. Seoul, the venue for this congress, has served as a capital for many dynasties in the past and now it is not only the political, economic and logistic hub of Korea but also the IP hub of Northeast Asia, not to the mention the hub of the Korean cultural wave.

For the next four days, approximately 2,000 IP professionals from all over the world are going to have in-depth discussions on current IP matters and build networks among members. I hope that the 2012 AIPPI Seoul Congress will mark the beginning of forthcoming IP networking opportunities in Asia and contribute to the development of AIPPI in the long run.

I would like to express my gratitude to patent offices worldwide for being supportive of this congress. In participation we have: commissioner Kim Ho-won of KIPO, deputy director general James Poorley of WIPO, Chief Judge Randall R. Rader of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Presiding Judge Peter Meier-Beck at the German Federal Supreme Court, as well as many other IP leaders from national patent offices, courts and NGOs such as APAA, AIPLA, LES-International, FICPI, ECTA, IACC, ASIPI and others.

Also, I wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank President Kim Seong-ki and the Korean Group for preparing such a wonderful event.

I wish you a wonderful time during your stay in Seoul, the capital city of Korea.

Thank you very much.

By Kim Yoon-bae, President of AIPPI