International Advocacy
IPO’s international activities span the globe in accordance with its vision of the global acceleration of innovation, creativity, and investment necessary to improve lives.
IPO’s mission is to promote high-quality and enforceable IP rights and predictable legal systems for all industries and technologies. The global acceleration of innovation, creativity, and investment is necessary to improve lives.
IPO advocates for harmonization of IP laws and procedures through its participation in the Industry Trilateral and IP5 Industry (which address harmonization of patent laws and procedures) and in stakeholder meetings, such as those with the ID5 and TM5 (which address industrial design and trademark issues). Through its committees, IPO also monitors international developments in IP, prepares comment letters to be filed around the world, holds meetings with government officials and stakeholder groups here and abroad, organizes webinars on trending topics, and submits comments for consideration by the U.S. Trade Representative as part of the Special 301 Report process. It also regularly participates in meetings at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
A Global Perspective on IP
Use the tabs below to see some of the ways IPO is working throughout the world on effective IP policies.
Comments on International Issues
IPO provides official comments on a variety of international issues. You can view all the testimony and comments here.
- IPO Comments on the Updated EPO Guidelines for Examination, March 31, 2023
- IPO Testimony to U.S. ITC Regarding COVID-19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Supply, Demand, and TRIPS Agreement Flexibilities, March 29, 2023
- IPO Response to Questions Re: USTR 2023 Special 301 Review, March 7, 2023
- IPO Comments to CNIPA on Draft Amendment to the Trademark Law, February 27, 2023
- IPO 2023 Special 301 Review Comments, January 30, 2023
- IPO Comments to UKIPO Regarding Transformation Consultation, January 5, 2023
- IPO Comments to CNIPA on Draft Revised Patent Examination Guidelines, December 14, 2022
- IPO Comments to USTR Regarding Notorious Markets Review, October 7, 2022
- IPO and Other Associations Joint Statement of Support For Existing IP Framework to Facilitate Innovation and Partnerships, October 4, 2022
- IPO Responses to EU Questionnaire Regarding Compulsory Licensing, September 29, 2022
- IPO Comments to SAMR on Provisions “Prohibiting Abuse of IP Rights”, July 27, 2023
- IPO and Other Associations Joint Statement on WTO Decision to Change IP Framework, June 23, 2022
- IPO Comments to the China National Medical Products Administration Re: Feedback on the Regulations for the Implementation of the Drug Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, June, 9, 2022
- IPO Comments in Response to EU Call for Evidence Regarding Compulsory Licensing, April 29, 2022
- IPO Response to Questions Re: USTR 2022 Special 301 Review, March 8, 2022
- IPO Letter to PPAC re: Design Patents MPEP Section and Training Materials, February 16, 2022
- IPO Comments to IP Australia on the Draft Designs (Formal Requirements for Designs Documents) Instrument – Nov 30, 2021
- IPO Comments on Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, Nov 10, 2021
- 2021 IPO Notorious Markets Comments, Oct. 11, 2021
- IPO Comments to CNIPA on Draft Revised Patent Examination Guidelines – Sept 22, 2021
- IPO Letter to USTR Regarding Brazilian Compulsory Licensing Legislation – Aug 24, 2021
- IPO Comments to CNIPA on Draft Amendments to Several Stipulations Regarding Regulating the Act of Applying for a Patent – June 5, 2021
- IPO Comments to CIPO Regarding Proposed Change to the Refusal and Review Process for Industrial Design Examination Decisions– May 31, 2021
- IPO Brief to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade regarding “Canada’s International Trade and Investment Policy: Selected Considerations Concerning COVID-19 Vaccines” – April 30, 2021
- IPO Comments to CNIPA on Draft Measures for Administrative Adjudication of Major Patent Disputes – April 2, 2021
- Joint IP Associations Letter Supporting U.S. Opposition to TRIPS Waiver – March 30, 2021
- IPO Response to Questions from USTR re: USTR’s Special 301 Review – March 5, 2021
- IPO Comments to CNIPA on Draft Amendments to Implementing Regulations – January 11, 2021
International Committees
IPO has a number of international committees that work on a variety of issues. Browse all the IPO Committees here.
Events & Webinars
Meetings (In-person):
- IPO Annual Meeting – 22-24 September 2024 (Chicago, Illinois USA)
- IPO European Practice Committee Conference – 20 June 2024 (London, UK)
Webinars:
IPO has hosted a variety of webinars covering international issues. To view the current webinars, visit the IPO webinars page.
- UK Perspectives of the Unified Patent Court – August 15, 2024
- Procedural Harmonization – May 21, 2024
- Trade Secrets Under Pressure From the Winds of Public Policies – January 9, 2024
- Unified Patent Court (UPC): A New Forum for Patent Litigation in Europe – February 8, 2023
- Exploring the Future of Innovation-driven Growth and the Role of Intellectual Property: U.S. Industry Experiences – January 18, 2023
Webinars 2022 and older are no longer available online:
- Life After Brexit – IP Developments UK and Europe – June 29, 2022
- IP Developments in Russia: What You Need to Know – June 9, 2022
- Trending Global IP Issues Through the Lens of IPO’s Special 301 Comments – March 16, 2022
- Drug Patent Linkage & Drug Patent Term Extension – Current Situation Around the World – November 16, 2021
- Demystifying Design Rights and the Hague System
- Approaches to Arbitration and Mediation, with a Focus on the U.S. and China
- What’s New In Bad Faith and Why It Matters: Global Perspectives – Sept. 15, 2021
- The Impact of the Brazilian Supreme Court Decision on the Patent Term – June 24, 2021
- Opportunities for Patent Applicants in Latin America: Benefiting from Work Sharing Programs and Other Fast-Track Options – April 7, 2021
- An Overview of Global Issues Based on IPOs Special 301 Comments – Mar 18, 2021
- The USPTO IP Attaché Program: Structure, Goals, and the Current Situation in China – Mar 2, 2021
- Approaches to Arbitration and Mediation, with a Focus on the U.S. and China
- Waiving IP Protections to Address COVID-19: The WTO Proposals and Ensuring Equitable Access to the Vaccines
- Patenting Computer Simulations in Europe Following Enlarged Board Case G1/19
Harmonization Related Work
IPO has worked alongside a number of organizations to further harmonization.
- ID5: http://id-five.org/
- IP5: https://www.fiveipoffices.org/index
- Group B+: https://www.epo.org/law-practice/harmonisation/group-b-plus.html
- TM5: http://tmfive.org/
- Trilateral Patent Offices: https://www.trilateral.net/home
Ready to get involved in IPO?
Contact Matt Rankin (+1 202-507-4496) to start the membership process. You can also begin your application online.
