situations. Karolina provided a useful introduction on the enforcement of IP rights through administrative, civil and criminal Karolina Marciniszyn organs before going into more detail on preliminary injunctions: who can apply, the court which has jurisdiction, the time lines, the need for an “economic interest” in Poland and the like. A lot of practical advice was given about letters of demand, security for costs and enforcement generally. The topic of counterfeiting is always a “catchy” one and this time Sophie Molle of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) approached it from the perspective of Sophie Molle “Customs Armoury in the fight against counterfeits”. Her passion for her work was evident as she highlighted the important role played by WCO’s members in 180 countries, with 70% of all seizures of counterfeits in this $1.7 trillion “industry” being made by customs officials. Her focus was on developing countries where IP legislation is often deficient, where customs work is all about revenue collection rather than stopping counterfeits, and where officers are under resourced and corruption is prevalent. She took us through Operation Biyela conducted in 23 ports in Africa, where a significant number of pharmaceutical counterfeits were intercepted. The main purpose of the talk was to promote the new IPM mobile tool which connects rights holders and customs to provide real time communication, operational information, news alerts and ongoing training. The value of immediate communication with officials on the ground, especially in countries where mobile communication is the only viable option, was clear to see. She concluded with a live demonstration of the IPM app which was most impressive. After lunch came the always engaging subject of “The trade mark significance of colour for pharmaceuticals”, which provoked the most questions and comments of the conference. Adrian Smith gave a really excellent talk and concluded that colours communicate and in practice have branding Adrian Smith significance. But they remain difficult to protect as trade marks with apparently only 271 CTM registrations for colour marks, and only 20 of these in class 5 and 6 in class 10. Reference was made to the work of the Neuro-Psychologist Christian Scheier showing that colours, more than words or letters, are strong and important “diagnostic cues” for consumers. Adrian also gave a useful summary of European jurisprudence from the Libertel case to more recent CTM cases including some on pharmaceuticals. He also touched on the Specsavers case and CP4 which suggest that registration for a black and white mark does not afford protection as wide as previously understood, and that brand owners need to seriously consider registration in colour as well. Inconsistencies make it quite difficult to furnish advice in this area but Adrian urged brand owners to keep pushing the boundaries, as there is certainly a place for these marks. PTMG Conferences always cover more than simply trade mark law questions but also look at industry issues, and this year’s contribution was by Sergio Sergio Napolitano Napolitano, director of Legal Affairs at the European Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (EGA) with his talk on “The generics environment today”. After making the point that generics constitute 55% of the market in EU, Sergio went on to explain the vision of EGA (to provide sustainable access to quality medicines for all patients in Europe), its history and activities and where it fits into the international landscape through its co-operation with WHO and anticounterfeit organisations. He gave interesting insights into the economics of generics, how Europe’s ageing population provides a major challenge which requires the balancing of public health and intellectual property interests. He profiled the increasing market share of generics in the treatment of common diseases such as hypertension and diabetes and showed how generics, biosimilar and value added medicines contribute by increasing patient choice and lowering cost, so much so that, in the field of chronic diseases, patient access doubles while spending stays the same. The final slot of the conference was appropriately less academic as John Ward of Alcon gave us a personal insight and humorous account of the word of Alcon and his role in John Ward it. He noted how even the narrow field of ophthalmic care provides a diverse, and hence stimulating and rewarding, field of practice involving developing names in house and managing a portfolio of around 25,000 marks. In the course of this, and with eye catching slides, he educated us on ophthalmics and medicines and devices in this field, and also trends he has noticed such as the increased filings in class 10 for medical devices, and the role that “big data” and mobile technology are now playing. In the closing exchange, Sue Evans thanked the Chairman on behalf of the delegates and coined the phrase “the magic of Frank Meixner”. A few hours later we were whisked away to the National Opera for a splendid dinner to round things off at which we were royally entertained by opera favourites performed in our midst by local opera stars. Thank you to the PTMG organizers for another successful and memorable conference. 11