Save the date: here comes the IPEC seminar

The IPEC: Victoria Espinel

The IPEC -- or Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator -- is one of the most original and stimulating innovations on the United States IP enforcement scene.  Sometimes called the "IP Tsar" and functioning within the White House's Office of Management and Budget, the IPEC team runs an office which has the ear of the President himself. The first person to hold the position is Victoria Espinel, who was confirmed in her position by President Barack Obama nearly a year ago in December 2009. This is what she says about her role in helping tackle serious intellectual property infringement:

"My job is to help coordinate the work of the federal agencies that are involved with stopping this illegal behavior. We are going to work together to develop a strategy to reduce those risks to the public, the costs to our economy and to help protect the ingenuity and creativity of Americans. We want to be able to reduce the number of infringing goods in the United States and abroad. The examples are almost endless: counterfeit car parts, illegal software, pirated video games, knockoff consumer goods, dangerous counterfeit medicines, and many other types of products – including very sophisticated technology. Our goal is to better use taxpayer dollars and other government resources to be more effective in reducing any threat to our economy and our safety".

Fascinated by this, the IPKat is holding a seminar, "IP Enforcement in the UK: appraising the new American model", on Tuesday 23 November 2010, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm (doors open for registration at 5.00pm).  The venue is the Central London office of leading law firm Covington & Burling -- the firm in which Ms Espinel once worked.  The office is at 265 Strand (details here).

The programme is not yet complete, but the IPKat can already tell you this:

• Speakers and panellists will include Ashley Roughton (Hogarth Chambers), Dids Macdonald (ACID) and David Rosenberg (GSK).  IPKat team member Jeremy Phillips will be chairing.
  
• The plot is as follows: a US speaker will explain the US set-up and initial responses to it.  Ashley Roughton will evaluate the concept in terms of how it might be grafted into the UK.  A panel of experts drawn from industry, the professions, government and political experts will give their opinions, following which there will be a general discussion and question-and-answer session.  The event will conclude with some pleasant refreshments.
  
• CPD points have been applied for.
  
• Admission is free -- and you are all welcome.

If you're planning to come, please email IPKat team member Jeremy here (subject line "IPEC seminar") and save your space.  The venue is capacious, but a large audience is expected.

If you're in two minds as to whether this event is worth attending, this article by Mark Owen (Harbottle & Lewis), replete with comments and ripostes, and this JIPLP editorial, may help you make up your mind.