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The UIHJ participated on 10 February 2023 in a Meeting Day between the UIHJ, the General Council of Procuradores of Spain, the College of Procuradores of Alicante, and the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUIPO), at the headquarters of this European institution, in Alicante, Spain.

This meeting made it possible to lay the foundations for a future collaboration between the UIHJ, the Procuradores, and the EUIPO, for the strengthening of the defence of the interests of litigants in the field of intellectual property.

The day was opened by Pilar Fuentes, Dean of the College of Procuradores of Alicante, welcoming all participants and thanking UEIPO for hosting the meeting at its headquarters in Alicante. She highlighted the interest for justice professionals to work together to strive for the improvement of justice, in particular by creating new paths.

Marc Schmitz, President of the UIHJ and of the European Union of Judicial Officers (UEHJ), thanked the EUIPO for its welcome, as well as the General Council of Procuradores of Spain, and the College of Procuradores of Alicante. He mentioned the role of the judicial officer in general and that, very important, in matters of intellectual property, through statements of facts or special procedures, such as counterfeiting seizure.

Juan Carlos Estevez Fernandez Novoa, President of the General Council of Procuradores of Spain thanked all those who allowed the organisation of the day, in particular Pilar Fuentes, and to the UIHJ for its renewed willingness to collaborate with the Spanish Procuradores. He insisted on the contribution of legal professionals to the construction of Europe and the place of intellectual property law, a very technical law, but the importance of which grows every year and which calls for harmonised rules both internally and at international level.

Maria Angela Caro Rosell, team leader of the Institutional relations services of the EUIPO, presented the EUIPO, created in 1994, responsible for managing the EU trade mark and the registered Community design. It also works with the Intellectual Property Offices of the Member States of the European Union and international partners to offer a similar registration service for trademarks and designs across Europe and the world.

Marc Schmitz then presented the UIHJ and the UEHJ. Jos Uitdehaag, First Vice-President of the UIHJ, addressed the role of the judicial officer in intellectual property, insisting on this notion as a right on a movable asset. Mathieu Chardon, Secretary General of the UIHJ, then Carlos Calvo, President of the Chamber of Judicial Officers of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the UEHJ, spoke about the intervention of the Judicial Officer in the protection of intellectual property, the judicial officer and evidence, and the statement of facts by the judicial officer. Following these presentations, Ilias Tsipos, member of the Executive Committee of the UEHJ, addressed the question of the probative force of the statement of facts in Europe and the European Union Regulation on Evidence. Christine Valès, member of the board of the UIHJ, presented the counterfeiting seizure procedure, taking the example of France. Finally, Patrick Gielen, Secretary of the board of the UIHJ, discussed future prospects, technological developments, and the need for cross-border cooperation and harmonisation in the field of intellectual property, especially in the light of the Blockchain. The work was concluded with a round table on the intervention of the Procurador in the EUIPO.

The participants were able to continue the discussions during a guided tour of the city of Alicante, followed by a dinner. The UIHJ wishes to address its warmest thanks to EUIPO, the College of Procuradores of Alicante and to the General Council of Procuradores of Spain, for having organised and made possible this meeting which marks the dawn of an undoubtedly fruitful collaboration between the UIHJ, the UEHJ, the Procuradores, and the EUIPO.