FICPI WORLD CONGRESS & EXCO 2025

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Dear friends,

Welcome to Naples!

This year is a notable one for me, as my cherished Presidency of FICPI comes to an end, culminating with the FICPI World Congress in Naples, Italy.

Naples is known for its blend of cultural influences through the millennia, with the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Normans, as well as Spanish, French and Arabs having influenced the beautifully melded culture and traditions that we experience today. 

The strength of diverse cultures coming together over the ages was celebrated recently, when Naples became one of the key cities for the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture & Dialogue project. The project highlights the benefits of the Euro-Mediterranean area’s history of cooperation and melded culture. 

Meanwhile, the theme for this year’s World Congress is cooperation in the IP world and the benefits it can bring. Cooperation can take many forms: between countries, institutions, patent and trademark Offices, within and between firms, between firms and clients, and more. 

As you peruse the programme for the Congress, you will see cooperation as a strong thread running throughout the plenary sessions, workshops and breakouts. 

Our FICPI community is built on cooperation and trusted, global relationships, bringing members the strength and resilience to navigate the volatility of world politics and challenges such as the Covid pandemic. 

During my Presidency, I’ve aimed to further encourage cooperation and collaboration within our membership, with IP Offices and associations, across countries, and across cultures. 

We’ve worked to encourage more FICPI members to participate in committees and working groups, continued to drive our DEIA inclusivity agenda, and re-started our SEAD training course -- where young IP professionals from 30+ countries enhance their patent drafting skills. We’ve also been successful in encouraging younger members to join FICPI and play an active part, and we will soon be launching a new inter-firm trainee exchange program. 

FICPI events, such as the World Congress, are ideal platforms for building relationships across IP disciplines and countries, gathering and sharing insights from expert speakers in the field, and making genuine and long-lasting friendships and professional connections.

As you enjoy the World Congress, I hope that you will join with me in supporting and driving initiatives which transcend personal, firm or national interests, so that we can spread the benefits of cooperation and shared synergies across all types of borders. 

Roberto Pistolesi
President
FICPI