Frequently Asked Questions (old)

A. APAA Membership

QA1: Who is eligible for APAA membership?
AA1: Patent attorneys practicing in the Asian region are eligible for APAA membership under and subject to the Statutes of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association.

QA2: How can I apply for APAA membership?
AA2: There are 18 Recognized Groups in our Association at present: Australia, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macao, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. If you are a patent attorney practicing in one of these jurisdictions, the APAA Secretariat will forward your enquiry to the contact office of the Recognized Group concerned who will give you further information regarding your membership application. If you are a patent attorney practicing in any of the jurisdictions other than the above 18 Recognized Groups within the Asian region, please contact the APAA Secretariat.

QA3: What are the annual membership fees?
AA3: There are two types of memberships in our Association, Individual membership and Organization (Firm) membership. Some Recognized Groups consist of both Individual and Organization members while other Recognized Groups comprise only Individual members. The annual membership fee for an Individual member is Japanese Yen 11,000 while that for an Organization member is Yen 33,000. Further, some administration fees may be added to the annual dues, which may vary according to the requirements of the relevant APAA Recognized Groups.

B. APAA Observers

QB1: I am not a member of the APAA. May I attend the conference of your Association?
AB1: If you hold professional qualifications such as patent attorney or attorney-at-law, you may be entitled to attend our conference as an Observer subject to the Regulations of our Association.

C. APAA Annual Conferences

QC1: What are your annual conferences?
AC1: Our Association holds Council Meetings every year and General Assemblies every three years. The annual conferences mean conferences organized in conjunction with these meetings which are normally held in autumn.

QC2: How does your Association determine the venues of these annual conferences?
AC2: The Recognized Groups of our Association hold these conferences by rotation. The Recognized Groups who wish to host the conferences are requested to submit their bids to the Association four years in advance to the actual year of the conferences. Upon receipt of the bids sent by the interested Recognized Groups, the Council will decide on the venue of the annual conference which will be held four years later.

QC3: What are the actual dates and the venue of the next APAA conference?
AC3: Please access “Future Annual Meetings” on the menu of the main page of this website and refer to the notices shown there.

QC4: Is it possible to obtain a copy of the list of registrants for your annual meeting prior to the conference?
AC4: No, we regret to say that our Association can not provide anyone with a copy thereof before the conference, under the APAA policy.

D. Member Attendance at APAA Annual Conferences

QD1: I am a member of your Association. When can I receive a brochure for our annual conference?
AD1: Brochures are sent to the contact offices of the APAA Recognized Groups which in turn will send a brochure to each member of their Groups. If you are a member of one of the Recognized Groups, you should be able to receive such brochure. In case you do not receive a brochure four months before the date of our annual conference, the expected delivery time, please contact your Recognized Group directly. The APAA Secretariat will send the brochures directly to the members in jurisdictions where a Recognized Group has not yet been established.

E. Observer Attendance at APAA Annual Conferences

QE1: I wish to become an observer to attend your annual conferences. What are the procedures involved? Do I have to submit any Form when I apply for registration for the conference?
AE1: First you need to be a patent attorney or attorney-at-law practicing outside of the Asian region. A first time observer is requested to send a Sponsorship Form along with your Registration Form. It is necessary for the Sponsorship Form to be duly executed by one of the APAA Individual members to support your registration. Please inform the APAA Secretariat of your mailing address of your office so that we will place your name and address on our mailing list of observers and allocate you an Observer ID. After which, you will receive a brochure, including a Registration Form, a Hotel Reservation Form, and a Sponsorship Form in early summer each year.

QE2: What kind of programs can an observer attend during your annual conferences?
AE2: An observer can attend almost all of the programs during our annual conferences except the closed business meetings of our Councilors and members, AdHoc Committees & Groups which are mainly for our internal administrative matters. In other words, you are able to attend all our educational sessions including Workshops/Seminars, Standing Committee meetings (open)and Asian IP Forum. You are also welcome to all our social functions to be held during the conference.

QE3: What is an “Observer ID”?
AE3: An “Observer ID” is the identification number of the observer. When your name and address are placed on our mailing list, you will be allocated an Observer ID which is necessary when you register for our annual conferences. Please kindly note that this is different from “User ID & Password” to access the “Observers’ Only Section” of this website which is to be informed to those observers who attended the previous year’s annual conference. By using “User ID & Password”, those observers can access the “Observers’ Only Section” of this website where they are able to review the reports having been presented at the previous year’s annual conference. The “Observer ID” is almost permanent and allocated to per firm, only one Observer ID for one firm, while the “User ID & Password” are only valid for the year.

QE4: When do the observers whose names are on your list receive Registration Forms for your annual conference?
QE4: The Brochures, including the Registration Forms, Hotel Reservation Forms, and Sponsorship Forms for our annual conference are usually dispatched to the observers in early summer each year. If you do not receive a brochure by the time of three months before the conference, please inform the APAA Secretariat through this website.

F. 2nd Observer Attendance at APAA Annual Conference

QF1: I am an observer. Both my colleague and I would wish to attend your annual conference representing our firm as observers. Would this be possible?
QF1: Under our guidelines for observer participation, “only one observer from one and the same firm” can, in principle, attend our annual conferences at present. As such, the name of the 2nd observer from your firm will be placed on our waiting list. If the accommodation capacity after the Early registration permits, he/she will be eligible for registration. Those 2nd observers will be able to register by paying the Early registration fees, if they inform the APAA Secretariat of their desire to attend as 2nd observers, in writing, before the Early registration period.

G. Registration for APAA Annual Conferences

QG1: Can I register online for your annual conference?
AG1: Yes, the Organizing Committee of the host Group normally sets up a conference website, which is different from this website, no later than May each year. The URL of the conference website is to be stated in the brochure which you will receive. As such, normally you cannot, in principle, register online until you have received a brochure. In order to login for registration on the conference website, you need, in principle, your “Member ID” for an APAA member or “Observer ID” for an observer.

QG2: I have already registered for your annual conference, however, I have not received confirmation of my registration as yet. Who should I contact, in this matter?
AG2: Please contact directly the conference Secretariat whose details are indicated in the Registration Form. If you wish to cancel your registration, please write directly to the conference Secretariat, without delay.

QG3: I am a member of your Association. Although I have already registered for the conference, my situation prevents me from attending there. Would it be possible for my colleague to attend the conference, in place of me, with my registration fee paid already?
AG3: Yes, only if your colleague is a member of our Association. Even though he/she can attend with your registration fee, he/she is required to submit his/her Registration Form in which his/her details should be inserted.

QG4: I am an observer. I have already registered for the conference, nevertheless, it has turned out now that I can not attend. Would it be possible for my colleague to attend, in place of me?
AG4: Yes, only if your colleague is a patent attorney or an attorney-at-law. He/she is requested to send his/her own Registration Form as same as the above case.

QG5: I am an Accompanying Office Personnel (AOP) who will attend the conference accompanying an APAA member. However, I am afraid that the APAA member who has registered cannot attend the conference now. Can I attend on my own?
AG5: Regrettably, you cannot. You as an AOP cannot attend the conference without the attendance of your APAA member.

QG6: I am a patent attorney practicing in the Asian region. Would it possible for me to attend as an observer, though?
AG6: Our Association strongly recommends that you apply for APAA membership before the conference and attend as an APAA member. However, if you would wish to attend as an observer by paying the observer registration fee, please submit your Sponsorship Form executed by the APAA Group President of your jurisdiction of your practice when you send your Registration Form for the conference. As a general rule, you can attend our annual conference as an observer only once.