The WJA Munich Conference IP Protection & Trademark Rights was held on May 3 – 4 at the Courtyard® & Residence Inn^® Munich East Hotel in Munich, Germany. The successful conference featured an array of high level interesting presentations and events. The Opening Ceremony begun with speeches from Dr. Alexander Löw, President of the Organizing Committee & President of the WJA for Europe & Germany; Dr. Franklin Hoet-Linares, WJA Worldwide President; Hon. Justice TAO Kaiyuan, WJA President for Asia & China; and Marc F-X Groebl, member of the Board of Directors of the Munich Bar Association.

First day sessions included:

• Franklin Hoet Linares, Founding Partner at HPCD, on Multiple Protection Strategies in the Fashion Design Business in LATAM;
• Brian Smith, Partner at Robinson & Cole, on US Copyright Protections;
• Yann Meniere, Chief Economist at the European Patent Office, on The Economic Impact of the Unitary Patent;
• Orlando Viera Blanco, President of the Canadian-Venezuelan Engagement Foundation, on the Impact of Counterfeiting and Illegitimate Markets in the Social, Economic and Institutional Field;
• TAO Kaiyuan, Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China, on the Reform and Development of Intellectual Property Protection of Chinese Courts;
• WANG Chuang, Deputy Chief Judge of the 3^rd Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China, on the Development of China’s Trademark Protection Rules and System;
• JIANG Ying, Chief Judge of the 1^st Trial Division of Beijing Intellectual Property Court of the People’s Republic of China, on the Practice and Prospect of the Intellectual Property Case Guidance System in China;
• LING Song, Deputy Judge of the 1^st Trial Division of Shanghai Intellectual Property Court of the People’s Republic of China, on the Promoting Judicial Protection of Scientific Innovation and Enhancing IP International Exchange against the Background of Globalization; and
• HUANG Huihuan, Chief Judge of the Case-Filing Division of Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court of the People’s Republic of China, on Research on Market Value of IP & Key to the Difficulty of Determining Tort Damages Compensation.

The day closed with a moving Commemorative Ceremony held at the Munich Olympic Village near the Munich Massacre Monument in remembrance of the 11 Israeli Athletes and the German Police Officer murdered in 1972 during the Summer Olympic Games. The ceremony, greatly organized and produced by Adv. Yehoshua Nener, WJA Israel President, was initiated by Dr. Hoet and a prayer in the athletes’ memory recited by a Rabbi.

Adv. Nener delivered the opening speech, emphasizing that the world must unite against terrorism. Keynote Speaker, Hon. Jus. Miriam Naor, President (ret) of the Supreme Court of Israel, reviewed the events unfolding the act of terror, highlighting the unfortunate refusal of Germany to allow the Israeli Special Forces to release the hostages.

Following speeches were delivered by Mrs. Ankie Spitzer, widow of Andre Spitzer, athlete murdered during the massacre, and Mr. Yoram Domb, husband of Esther Roth-Shahamorov, surviving Israeli athlete. Other speakers included the Deputy Consul of Israel in Munich, Mr. Liran Sahar, Dr. Alexander Löw, and Dr. Franklin Hoet, who delivered his most moving message on behalf of the organization.

Through the videos screened behind the speakers, many of the participants were exposed for the first time to the details of the Munich Massacre. Attendees expressed how deeply moved they were and promised to transmit the indelible impression left by the ceremony to jurists and friends in their home countries.

Day two sessions included:

• Miguel Domingo Vecchioni, Manager of the Team of Applied Mathematics and Natural Language Processing at the European Patent Office, on Patents in the 4^th Industrial Revolution;
• Jacint Soler-Padró, WJA Spain President, on the Internet Company’s Monopoly – A Risk to our Freedom?
• Panagiotis Rigopoulos, Lawyer of the European & International Legal Affairs of the European Patent Office, on the Recent Developments at the EPO and the EPO as a Key Harmonization Driver;
• Alexander Löw, President of Data-Warehouse GmbH, on Challenges of Small and Medium Enterprises in IP;
• Jesús Becerra, Corporate Criminal Defense Attorney and Lecturer at the Universitat Pompeu Fabré Barcelona, on the Criminal Law Consequences of the Protection of Intellectual Property Through Self Help under Spanish Law; and
• Ramón Soler-Padró, Partner at Soler-Padró v. Hohenlohe Engel, on the Impacts of Social Media on the Civil Society.

A vibrant Closing Ceremony was held at the traditional Bavarian restaurant Ratskeller of the Munich City Town Hall. Hon. Jus. Peter Umeadi, WJA President for Africa, honored the Closing Statement of the Conference. Typical Oktober Fest gifts were presented as well as beautiful presents from the Chinese delegation, and a Bavarian music and dance show delighted the WJA Global Council, members and participants, who even joined in for a dance.

The WJA greatly appreciates the participation of attendees from countries as far as Canada, USA, Latin America, Nigeria, Israel and China, among other countries. Furthermore, WJA is proud of and thankful with the Organizing Committee, Dr. Alexander Löw and family, Sven Kohlmeier, Alexandra Lohr, Carola Dirscherl, Yacky Rodríguez and all the Data-Warehouse Gmgh team, who worked very hard to put together such a successful and high-quality event.

Expectations now rely on the upcoming 26th Biennial Congress in Madrid, Spain, to be presided by H.M. the King of Spain in 2019, and on the next Conference to be organized by the WJA Israeli team, probably in Jerusalem, which would give us the opportunity to reunite with our friends from the Israeli Supreme Court and the unforgettable and hardworking WJA member Dr. Ethia Simha.

Note: Presentations will be soon available. Further information Dr. Alexander Löw, WJA President for Europe A.Loew@dwh.email. WJA members discount applies.

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