The Presidential Farewell: A Q&A With AIPPI President, Luiz Henrique do Amaral

Finally, after 2 years of Online Congresses, back in person for the AIPPI World Congress. How do you feel about it?

It is great that AIPPI is back in person, and we are excited to meet our members and friends in San Francisco. I believe that the members of AIPPI are eager to come back in person. During the pandemic, AIPPI had to quickly move all activities online, as many other organizations did. But two years of isolation without personal contact has deeply affected the way of doing business and networking. However, nothing can replace face-to-face discussions.

Being this year in San Francisco, what makes it special for you, and what are the highlights you are looking forward to at the Congress?

San Francisco is the perfect venue to resume our in-person activities. The city is very nice, full of possibilities for social events. Being on the west coast of the US, San Francisco will undoubtedly attract and welcome our participants from US, Europe, Asia, and all the Americas in general.

On the scientific content side, the study questions to be discussed at the AIPPI World Congress are cutting-edge issues that will affect the development of IP laws and practices. Those issues require review and an attempt to harmonize the positions around the world.

Why do you think members should attend yearly the annual World Congress?

Several reasons come together that give incentive to our members to attend. We will propose resolutions that will allow for shaping the future of IP and the members have to participate in these discussions. The program has been designed to provide education and training on important IP matters. The social events have been designed for networking and to offer the best entertainment.

This is your final Congress as AIPPI President and Bureau Member, as your term of service will be over after the Congress. What are your reflections on your presidency terms (highlights, achievements, etc.)? Which advice would you like to share with your successor?

I think that this Bureau and my presidency will be remembered as the pandemic Bureau. We faced unprecedented challenges. And we succeeded. The first challenge was moving all our activities online and maintaining the flow of work and the membership active and engaged. We are proud that we have introduced a full program of webinars and provided our committees with virtual tools that enabled them to remain in contact and continue to work together. We organized two successful and well-attended online Congresses. The initiatives to engage the members were worthwhile, and the number of members and flow of revenue stayed stable and even increased. We were very fortunate to hire a brilliant and competent new Executive Director, Judith Willert, who has been doing fantastic work. I believe AIPPI came out of the pandemic stronger and ready to face new challenges and continue to grow.

Anything you would like to add?

I would like to thank all the members of the  Bureau, as it has been a great honor and privilege to work together during the last two years. I also appreciate a lot the work of the staff of AIPPI in Zurich. Thank you to the entire leadership of AIPPI, chairs and co-chairs of our Standing and Statutory Committees. We are grateful for the time and efforts dedicated to AIPPI.

I wish all the best to the next Bureau team that will step in after the Congress. I’m sure AIPPI will continue to excel and foster the development of IP laws to promote innovations and economic and social development.