Welcome
Welcome to Italy, welcome to Sicily, welcome to Palermo.
The local history is so rich that by revisiting it one acquires the feeling that not only the future is without limitations – as we believe - but the past also.
Sicily is both the largest region of the modern state of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and because of its location and resources it was regarded as crucial for monitoring the Mediterranean trade routes, a condition which produced an unusual and seemingly endless series of conflicts.
Looking backwards we see a succession of great powers: the Sicani, who were an Iberian tribe and after whom the island is named, the Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Catalans, Spaniards, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans.
The richness of Sicily’s archeological heritage testifies to the cultural levels of the successive powers. We often find symbols, signs, and identifying marks, very much akin to trade marks or designs, often in themselves works of art; for such Sicily is indeed very much a living museum.
It is within this fitting framework that our Conference brings together very varied cultures and considers the very latest issues both “real” and on the web.
The Conference takes place thanks to the work of the various ECTA Committees and to the presence of an impressive series of experts from industry, Institutions and private practice, and we will be looking at Internet issues, OHIM New Practices, the Convergence Programme, new EU legislation and relevant case law amongst other things. The presence of our experts is confirmation of the need for good IP to support modern society, even in and one could say, especially in, current economic circumstances.
Perhaps the Sicilian lesson is one we should indeed keep in mind: no one is really isolated, even on an island and you don’t need to be new in order to be modern.
Welcome to the 31st ECTA Conference!
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| Annick Mottet Haugaard | Domenico De Simone |
| President of ECTA | ECTA First Vice-President &
Chairman of the Organising Committee |
