Egypt hosts a regional conference on 'IPR Enforcement in the Digital Age'

That will kick-start on the 9th of November and will close on the 11th with a governmental workshop designed to enhance regional cooperation and explore the way forward.

The conference is being held under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and is organized by the Egyptian Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology (ECIPIT), Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) in cooperation with the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO), Global Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The two-day conference and the workshop will bring together leading experts and practitioners from various disciplines and backgrounds to exchange viewpoints and expertise to better deal with challenges related to enforcement, copyright protection, counterfeiting, managing IP assets, and maximizing the IP values. The regional event will address the effect of IPR on economies and the competitive advantages of small and medium businesses.

Representatives from more than 10 countries are expected to show up for the conference along with those representing the international organizations concerned with IPR enforcement and strategic planning. The conference is targeting enforcement agencies, IPR governmental officials, patent and trademark attorneys, investors, bankers, venture capitalists, and ICT business development professionals. Attendees will be engaged in topics ranging from international anti-piracy and counterfeiting to IPR management and maximizing return on investment strategies.

Discussions on software and databases protection practices, legal and technological obstacles in the process of protecting IPR, and IP enforcement will enable judges, prosecutors, and lawyers to have a form of roadmap to deal with the issues at hand.

The closing workshop will be dedicated exclusively to discussions by Arab governmental officials aiming at devising an action plan to maximize cooperation in enforcement activities within the region.

The conference underlines the joint efforts exerted by the Egyptian government and local IPR NGOs to ensure IPR protection and enhance the IPR awareness in the country and across the region. According to the fifth annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study, Egyptian piracy ratings dropped to 60% in 2007 which is 1% below the global median piracy rating (61%).