With approximately 185 participants, including government officials, IP lawyers, and academics from various countries, the 1st International Seminar of Women in Intellectual Property held on March 15th exceeded the expectations of the organizers and attendees. The seminar, held in celebration of International Women’s Day, focused on issues of diversity, inclusion, and cutting-edge technology, such as artificial intelligence, metaverse, and NFTs, and had Intellectual Property as its primary axis. “We were thrilled with the seminar’s impact and are already planning a new event,” said Jussiane Siqueira, founder of PI Female.
The seminar was held at the ABPI headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, with a live transmission and simultaneous translation. It featured a keynote speech by researcher Erin Young, from the Alan Turing Institute, who discussed new technologies and ethical issues surrounding artificial intelligence. The topic was also addressed by Maria Angélica Garcia, the British government’s Intellectual Property attaché for Latin America. The seminar included presentations by several experts, including Natália Ruschel from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services; Rafaela Guerrante from the BPTO; Marie-Hélène Béland from the Canadian Consulate; Charlotte Guillard from the UK Intellectual Property Office; Jia Yi from the Embassy of Singapore, and Sabrina Konrad from IPI, Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Bern, Switzerland.
After lunch, it continued with discussions on diversity and gender equity, with a presentation by Maria Beatriz Dellore, the USPTO Regional Intellectual Property Advisor for Mercosur, Guianas, Suriname, and Venezuela. The works focused on “Initiatives in IP – Diversity and Inclusion,” with Rafaela Guerrante coordinating the panel and presenting the BPTO’s Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Committee. The panel was further enriched by speeches from Joana de Mattos Siqueira, from the ABPI Diversity Committee; Kone Cesário, from UFRJ; Kamila Silva Barbalho, from Microciclo Biotecnologia; and attorney Renata Shaw.
The next panel addressed “Women in Industrial Property,” with experts Elza Durham and Maria Cláudia Pinheiro as panelists. Natália Ruschel, from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services (MDIC); and representatives from Fiocruz, Carla Maia Einsiedler, and Patrícia Cristina da Costa Neves, gave presentations.
The last panel focused on Metaverse, NFTs, and Blockchain, with Amanda Silva as a debater and lawyers Julia Pazos and Mônica de Carvalho as speakers.
To access the seminar, visit the ABPI Channel on YouTube.
PI Female – The PI Female group was founded in 2019 with 135 women working in the Intellectual Property field. Since then, the group has grown to 322 women after the International Seminar of Women in IP. According to Jussiane Siqueira, the group’s objective is to exchange experiences, knowledge, and good practices in the market, as well as strengthen the network of diversity and inclusion in the sector.
The 1st International Seminar of Women in Intellectual Property was made possible by the work and networking of the team of organizers, including Rafaela Guerrante, Elza Durham, Jussiane Siqueira, Isabela Borsani, Maria Cláudia Nunes, Maria Angélica Garcia, Maria Beatriz Dellore, Amanda Luíza Soares Silva, Alessandra Carreiro, and Cristina Hori. The event, sponsored by the UK Intellectual Property Office, SIN – British Science and Innovation Network, USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), INOMAPI – Innovation in Intellectual Property, EDURHAM Consultancy in Intellectual Property, and ABPI, took two years to complete.
The seminar was the first in a series of thematic events the group intends to hold. The 2nd Seminar will be held in March 2024, celebrating International Women’s Day. In November, the group will host an event to discuss racial equality.
