The Editorial Advisory Committee Q197 (the EAC) feels very proud to have participated in the planning and the launch of the e-News, the new and exciting electronic newsletter of AIPPI. Since its inception in December 2006, the EAC has been active in developing and refining the concept of the e-News as the new internal communication instrument of AIPPI, to transmit news and information to members, and to receive news and information from members, in a fast and modern, interactive and exciting manner.

The EAC submitted two lengthy reports in which possible improvements to the previous hard-copy Newsletter were assessed, and proposals for a new electronic Newsletter were put forward. Members wishing to get more information on the work of the EAC can refer to the main report, dated April 2007, and the supplementary report dated July 2007.

The plans for an electronic newsletter were announced at the ExCo meeting in Singapore in September 2007, and the views — and support — of those members who attended the ExCo were obtained. The e-News has now become a reality. Members can expect to receive the e-News on a regular basis, once the production process has been fine-tuned.

Members will get from the e-News reports from the Bureau and early notification of AIPPI and other events; news regarding the activities of National Groups and other organisations (NGOs as well as governmental and inter-governmental bodies); and articles and notes on contentious issues, new developments, legislative changes, etc. Contributors will be acknowledged by name with a reference the city of the seat of their firm and their National Group. We believe such recognition will encourage authors, law firms and National Groups to submit publishable contributions.

Members will furthermore be able to make easy contact with AIPPI through the "contact us" section, and more specifically also via links in each contribution, in order to comment or open debate on the issues discussed therein. In turn this may provide a wealth of information and view points on future development of those issues which have shown to have attracted particular attention.

It is the hope of the EAC that the e-News will become a vibrant and inter-active instrument, that the AIPPI members will take ownership thereof. National Groups and individual members are invited to let us have their comments, responses, suggestions and their contributions on aspects of IP law and practice. In particular National Groups which have not already done so are invited to designate a National Reporter for the specific purpose of sending in to the editors news and other information about the groups, as well as reports on group activities and other contributions of a legal nature.

Information on the editorial policy will be included in each e-News. Generally contributions in the form of articles or notes should not exceed 600 words, and should be accompanied by a short introduction or résumé of about 100-200 words. Part or all of the introduction/ résumé will appear on the front page of the e-News, with a hyperlink to the main contribution.

Contributions will be selected on the basis of their legal-analytical merit and their relevance to AIPPI members. Where a contribution has already been published in another publication, the contributor will have to confirm that copyright permission has been granted for the publication in e-News.

Let us hear from our members via the e-News!