Brand & New

The Future of the IP Legal System and its Governance (with Marco M Alemán, Director, Patent Law Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, and Candidate of Colombia for the Position of Director General of WIPO)

February 25, 2020 INTA Season 2 Episode 11
Brand & New
The Future of the IP Legal System and its Governance (with Marco M Alemán, Director, Patent Law Division, World Intellectual Property Organization, and Candidate of Colombia for the Position of Director General of WIPO)
Show Notes

This episode is part of a special series of interviews with candidates for the position of Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The fundamental goals of the intellectual property (IP) system, as designed for the industrial era about 100 years ago, have always been to foster creativity and innovation, by granting monopoly rights, providing them with a sustainable economic basis. 

IP rights have always been challenged by new technologies, new market trends, but the pace and depth of these challenges have increased over the last decade or so. In particular, groundbreaking technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, or even life science innovations have a disruptive impact on traditional IP legal concepts and systems. For instance, how to create property rights in an algorithm that is constantly changing. 

Our guest shares his views on the future of the IP legal system and its governance, at a time when the number of patents and trademarks registrations indicate  a rising demand for IP rights globally, confirming  a global shift towards an “economy of knowledge,” with entirely new business lines thriving without almost any tangible assets – think software and algorithms, operating systems, or social media. 

Marco Matias Alemán is a Colombian lawyer who has spent the last 28 years in the IP world, as an IP attorney in a law firm, as Head of the Colombian Industrial Property Office (1995-1998) and at the policy level, holding several positions at the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) in Geneva since 1999.  Currently, he is  the  Director of the Patent Law Division at WIPO, and is also one of the remaining six candidates for the position of WIPO’s Director General. The Director General will be nominated in March 2020 and appointed in May 2020, for a term beginning October 1, 2020.

Every two weeks, on Tuesday, Brand & New gives the floor to inspiring individuals, with a 360-degree vision, to help brand owners, intellectual property lawyers, and marketing and finance professionals (and beyond!) stay curious and agile in an ever-evolving business environment.

Brand & New is a production of the International Trademark Association
Hosted by Audrey Dauvet
Contribution of M. Halle & S. Lagedamond - Music by JD Beats

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT INTA.ORG

To go further:
- About Marco M Alemán (link to https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-m-alemán/?originalSubdomain=ch, https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/about-wipo/en/elections2020/circular3946.pdf and https://aleman.world)

Also of interest:
- WIPO official website (link to https://www.wipo.int/portal/en/)
- WIPO 2020 Election of the Director General (link to https://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/elections2020/ and https://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/governmentpolicy/inside-wipo-director-general-candidate-interviews-exclusive-guest-post)
- INTA Impact Study: Trademarks in Latin America: Economic Impact in 10 Latin America and Caribbean Countries   (link to: http://www.inta.org/Communications/Pages/Impact-Studies.aspx)