Sri Lanka group joins AIPPI

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Sri Lanka group joins AIPPI

AIPPI’s newest national group is from Sri Lanka, where John Wilson helped set up the first IP association in January this year. Of the 24 members of the local association, four have so far joined AIPPI

“I think it’s important to not just be a member of AIPPI but to have a national group. It means you can answer the questions and meaningfully contribute to the association,” said Wilson. He also acknowledged the help of Abraham and fellow Bureau member Laurent Thibon, who both visited Sri Lanka earlier in the year.

“We worked on the questions for this year’s Congress out of our own interest, but couldn’t submit them as we had not yet been recognised,” said Wilson. “It’s interesting in a country like Sri Lanka with few IP cases to explore these international issues. The yellow books with all the answers from other countries are also always useful.”

Sri Lanka’s IP system is based on the WIPO model law for developing nations, but there are some new developments, such as draft laws on plant varieties, traditional knowledge and the definition of a well-known mark. “I think I can say that the process of consulting stakeholders in Sri Lanka could be improved,” said Wilson. “Hopefully the IP Association will be a step towards that.”

The new AIPPI group was recognised at the ExCo meeting on Sunday, where Wilson was handed two Sri Lankan flags and invited to sit in one of the two seats left vacant in the ranks of countries. It was also announced that the Iceland national group had narrowly avoided being suspended, but that Nigeria would be suspended after failing to pay its dues for two years.


Download the AIPPI Congress News, published by Managing IP from Seoul, Korea, from our conference newspapers page

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Exclusive data and analysis reveal why clients feel external legal teams aren’t providing business-centric advice
The head of the soft IP team at engineering group Sandvik, winner of the in-house team of the year award, reveals why a flurry of M&A activity led to a busy 2024
Lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills outline what rights owners should be doing ahead of sweeping changes to EU design law
Deals between five more law firms and President Trump and an antitrust lawsuit against Amgen were also among the top talking points this week
US counsel explain how they win new cleantech IP business and how they’re navigating the industry’s challenges
Leaders at the IP firms, which have joined forces with backing from a PE investor, share their vision of building the number one pan-European IP practice
Firms will steer clients towards other ways of getting quicker examinations, but fear the ramifications of the USPTO’s decision
Melissa Haapala added that returning to client advocacy and the chance to work on patent litigation were reasons for returning to private practice
Michelle Clark, who has a generalist litigation background, plans to focus on IP disputes at Alston & Bird
Philips and Vivo have entered into a licensing agreement, putting an end to a five-year-old telecom SEP dispute in India
Gift this article