NZ leader to Attend Major Symposium in Australia

NZ Intellectual Property Policy Leader to Attend Major Symposium in Australia

News Release Issued by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Intellectual Property Rights Experts’ Group

Melbourne, Australia, October 11, 2006 -- Leading Intellectual Property (IP) policy makers from Asia, the United States, Europe and Australia will take part in a symposium with businesspeople from around the APEC region in Sydney at the start of the 2007 APEC Year.

Launched today in Melbourne, the Trading Ideas Symposium has been developed by the Australian Government in cooperation with the APEC Intellectual Property Rights Experts’ Group (IPEG) to explore the future of IP in the region.

Karen Te-O-Kahurangi Waaka, the Chair of the Maori Trademarks Advisory Committee in New Zealand will be a leading speaker in what will be one of the largest intellectual property Symposium ever to be held in the Asia-Pacific.

IPEG Convenor, Mr. S Tiwari, welcomed the symposium as an opportunity for increasing knowledge of intellectual property and expanding trade in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Businesses and organizations seeking to expand into new markets will make use of the Trading Ideas Symposium to identify opportunities to benefit from their intellectual property,” Mr. Tiwari said from Singapore.

“The Trading Ideas Symposium will provide businesspeople with direct access to leading figures in global IP policy development.

“The symposium will look at central issues for IP protection including IP enforcement, the resolution of disputes, commercializing IP internationally and IP asset management.”

“The Trading Ideas Symposium is open for registration now and I urge businesses wanting to find profits in their IP to consider attending.”

Karen Te-O-Kahurangi Waaka represents New Zealand in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. The Maori Trademarks Advisory Group provides advice on trademarks to the Commissioner of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand.

Other participants in the numerous dialogues and interaction sessions that will take place over the three days include:
-- Alison Brimelow, President-Elect, European Patent Office
-- Jon Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce For Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
-- Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General, World Intellectual Property Organization.
-- Owen Malone, Intellectual Property Director, Fosters group Limited

The Trading Ideas Symposium will be held in Sydney on January 28-30, 2007.

Additional information on the symposium can be found at: www.TradingIdeas.org

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