Everything is ready for another ABPI International Congress on Intellectual Property. The largest and most important event of its kind in Latin America, this year’s Congress will take place from August 23rd to 26th and will debate Intellectual Property and the Circular Economy. There will be more than 50 hours of content, with the most varied themes, including four plenary sessions, eight panels, and 20 table topics, besides spaces for interaction and networking. At the event, the second in a virtual format, participants will have the opportunity to meet and network with representatives of companies, entities, and institutions that make up the intellectual property community in Brazil and worldwide. Registrations for the 41st Congress can be made through ABPI’s App.
This year’s Congress will bring important personalities from the world of intellectual property, including members of the judiciary, executive and legislative powers, representatives of companies, and Brazilian and foreign entities of the sector. Economist Ricardo Amorim will open the event on August, 23rd, at 9 a.m. (BRT), with a presentation on “Intellectual Property and the Circular Economy”. Then, the regional director of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Brazil Office, José Graça Aranha, the president of ABPI, Luiz Edgard Montaury Pimenta, and the president of the BPTO, Cláudio Vilar Furtado, will lead the presentation “Achievements and New Challenges in the BPTO’s Management”. On the same day, the highlight is on Panel 1 concerning “Patent Backlog Elimination Plan Updates”, with presentations by the BPTO Patent Director Liane Lage and the head of patents at Sanofi, Maria Isabel Giachetti.
On Tuesday, August 24th, the plenary “The Role of Innovation in the Circular Economy” will feature presentations by the CEO of INTA (International Trademark Association), Etienne Acedo; the director of Circular Economy Business at Braskem, Fabiana Quiroga; and the president of Instituto Capitalismo Consciente Brasil (Conscious Capitalism Institute Brazil), Hugo Bethlem.
The plenary on Wednesday, August, 25th will discuss the controversy “ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality) 5529: Impacts of the STF Decision”, with the participation of Luis Roberto Barroso, minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), and lawyers Luciano Timm, and Sérgio Olivares, from Mexico, moderated by the president of AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle) Luiz Henrique do Amaral. On the same day, Panel 5 is rather promising: “IP in Agribusiness: from genetic technology to automation”.
On the last day of the event, Thursday, August 26th, the Congress ends with the plenary “25 years of the Brazilian IPL and its Modernization”, with the participation of federal judge Márcia Maria Nunes de Barros; the vice president of ABPI, Gabriel Leonardos; the professor at UERJ (State University of Rio de Janeiro) and UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), Enzo Baiocchi and a closing speech by Luiz Edgard Montaury Pimenta, ABPI’s president. The 2nd ABPI Patent of the Year Award will be delivered virtually at the ceremony, and this edition will reward inventions that contribute to sustainable development.
Circular Economy and innovation hand in hand
The Circular Economy is the anchor theme of ABPI’s 41st International Congress on Intellectual Property. According to the definition of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Circular Economy is an “economic system that uses a systemic approach to maintain the circular flow of resources, through addition, retention, and regeneration of its value, contributing to sustainable development”. Based on a disruptive model, the circular economy proposes that design and technology generate circular systems of commerce and industry, creating new markets and deactivating many of the existing ones.
What does this have to do with Intellectual Property? Everything. Starting with the fact that companies will be the drivers of the circular economy — which replaces the current concept of a linear economy — since the extraction of inputs and disposal of products give way to reuse and recycling, thus reducing the use of natural resources. Companies profit from it by generating revenue from their waste, and the environment wins by eliminating waste in the production chain and emissions into the atmosphere. Therefore, to design, produce and market the new products and processes developed in the wake of the new circular economy, companies will have to protect their patents.
There are already industries that reprocess the materials used in the plant itself. The circular production model can permeate a wide spectrum of the production chain that generates waste, such as the cellulose industry, mining companies, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, among others.
Access the ABPI Congress website, check the program and make your registration.
