Organized by French association Union des Fabricants (unifab), the European Intellectual Property Forum (EIPF), which is also known as “Forum Européen de la Propriété Intellectuelle” in French, celebrates its 27^th anniversary on March 30^th and 31^st 2023. The event, which themes “Legislation, awareness, environment, digital: What does the future hold for IP”, features thought-provoking programs and heavyweight speakers.

The event kicks off with the opening speech of Christian PEUGEOT, Unifab President & President of Peugeot Frères Industries, Christophe BLANCHET, French Member of Parliament of the 4^th constituency of Calvados, National Assembly & President, CNAC and Guillaume VANDERHEYDEN, International Trade Deputy Director, French Customs General Directorate.

The forum attracts over 350 professionals from the corporate world, law firms and government authorities throughout the world. Discussions center on a slew of hot button topics including “Contemporary challenges of intellectual property”, “How to engage all actors?”, “Influence and digitalization... to an evolutive intellectual property?”, “What if influence was at the service of intellectual property?”, “The position of intellectual property in a digital immersive world?” as well as “New intellectual property practice beyond frontier”.

The event climaxes with the presentation of the Unifab award 2023 in the evening of March 30^th. Wanhuida Intellectual Property receives the UNIFAB Award in the “Law Firm” category for the successful invalidation of copycat “MANOLO&BLAHNIK马诺罗·贝丽嘉” trademark in class 25 through retrial proceeding. The firm’s client Decathlon receives the Unifab Award in the “Enterprise” category for successfully securing permanent injunction and damages of RMB 2 million from Chinese outdoor sports store Outcool, which copied the store design of Decathlon, a case also represented by Wanhuida.

The awards are presented by Paul MAIER, Director of the European Observatory of intellectual property infringement, EUIPO and Arthur DELAPORTE, French Member of Parliament of the 2^nd constituency of Calvados, National Assembly.

The winners were chosen by a jury through a rigorous process. The jury is presided by Philippe COEN, Legal Vice-President, Walt Disney & General Secretary, Unifab, consisting of members including Philippe Bohland, Vice President, Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle (CNCPI), Paul MAIER, Director of the European Observatory of intellectual property infringement, EUIPO, Sylvie Bénoliel, President, Law Practitioners Association APRAM, John Anderson, President, Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG), as well as Yann Basire, Director General and the Director of Center for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI), University of Strasbourg.

For more details about the award, please see: https://www.unifab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Communique-de-presse-Award-2023.pdf

Unifab announcing the winner of award in the “Law Firm” category

The firm’s Partner Zhu Zhigang delivers an acceptance speech via a pre-recorded video, which was later aired by Television Francais1 (TF1).