IACC cancels Singapore conference due to COVID-19
The International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) has cancelled its upcoming annual conference in Singapore, as the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt IP conference season.
The IACC annual conference was scheduled to take place from April 22-24 in the city-state, immediately before the International Trademark Association’s (INTA) annual meeting, which has also been called off.
A notice on the IACC conference webpage said it had been cancelled “due to the increasing health risks posed by the COVID-19”.
The IACC said it is “looking at opportunities to reschedule the conference for later this year”.
INTA moves to the US
On Saturday, February 15, INTA announced that its meeting would not take place in Singapore from April 25-29 as planned, and would instead be held at an unspecified US venue in “May or June”.
Speaking to WIPR, a spokesperson for the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) said they were “aware of INTA’s announcement, and understand that it was a difficult decision to make.”
“We accept that the decision was made in the interest of the potential participants. We appreciate that INTA had also informed us personally of their decision, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Singapore in 2022, and continue working closely with them,” the IPOS spokesperson added.
With the cancellation of the two Singapore-based events, attention has now turned to the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property’s (AIPPI) planned world congress in the Chinese city of Guangzhou in October.
The most recent statement from the AIPPI says it is “closely monitoring the situation” and that it is also “fully prepared for a backup plan”.
Follow the latest IP developments on WIPR’s COVID-19: Live blog.
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