SCMC Invited to the 4th European Union IP Mediation Conference

On October 19-20, 2023, the 4th Intellectual Property Mediation Conference, organized by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as “EUIPO”), was held in Alicante, Spain, the headquarters of EUIPO. Nearly 1,000 professional representatives from more than 60 countries around the world were invited to the Conference. The European Court of Justice, the European Parliament, relevant government departments and other responsible personnel as well as professional mediators gathered to discuss the hot and difficult issues in the field of international IP mediation. Shanghai Commercial Mediation Center (hereinafter referred to as “SCMC”) participated as the only professional commercial mediation organization to be invited in China.

(Registered countries at the Conference)

The Conference is centered on the cutting-edge theory and national practice of international IP mediation around the world. The Conference focused on four major topics, “Mediation and ADR policy developments in the EU and beyond: fit for business purposes?”, “The Big Buy-In: what does mediation have to offer to lawyers and businesses?”, “Hands-on Mediation”, and “Mediation Tech”, discussed in-depth in the form of keynote addresses and panel discussions.

Before the Conference, Mr. João Negrão, Executive Director of EUIPO (third from the right in the picture below) and Mr. Gordon Humphreys, President and interim of the Boards of Appeal of the EUIPO (second from the left in the picture below), welcomed the SCMC delegation and took a group photo. Mr. Negrão spoke highly of the previous cooperation between the Mediation Center and EUIPO and hoped that the parties could continue to deepen their cooperation.

(Group photo of SCMC delegation with EUIPO leaders)

During the conference, Zhang Wei, Director of SCMC, received an exclusive interview from the organizing committee. As the only representative from the commercial mediation organizations interviewed, Director Zhang elaborated on the development of commercial mediation in China and SCMC’s IP mediation practice. She had introduced the development prospects of SCMC and its innovations and explorations in the field of commercial mediation, and that SCMC will fully leverage the role of the Sino-European International Commercial Intellectual Property Joint Mediation Mechanism created with the Boards of Appeal of EUIPO, and deepen the exchanges and cooperation in the field of Sino-European intellectual property dispute resolution, relying on the advantages of the Intellectual Property Rights Overseas Service Office.

(SCMC interviews on the official website of the Conference)

During their stay in Alicante, the SCMC delegation was also invited to a special session with the Boards of Appeal of EUIPO on October 17th, where both sides reviewed the history of their friendly exchanges and cooperation over the years and had in-depth exchanges and reached consensus on several issues concerning further cooperation international intellectual property mediation.

(SCMC session with Boards of Appeal of EUIPO)