Necessity to Remain Agent of Record

Resolution of the Executive Committee, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 9-13 November 1980

“Necessity to Remain Agent of Record”

FICPI, the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys, broadly representative of the free profession throughout the world, assembled at its Executive Committee held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1980, passed the following Resolution:

Taking into account 

• the facilities afforded by modern computers and other sophisticated electronic equipment,
• that use made of such equipment in connection with the maintenance of industrial property rights especially by centralising all records and a watching service in one computer establishment,
• on the other hand, the sometimes legal necessity but always practical advantage of having an agent of record for every industrial property right registered,
• that the patent attorneys within FICPI consider it to be their responsibility towards their clients to watch over the industrial property rights with which they have been entrusted and to keep the client informed of all matters appertaining to them,
• that the patent attorneys within FICPI consider it to be possible to fulfil their abovementioned responsibility only by remaining agents of record of the industrial property rights entrusted to them even when the client chooses to make use of the abovementioned computer operations, 

the Executive Committee of FICPI decided to emphasize to all of its national associations and sections and in general to all its members the necessity of remaining agent of record in the above-mentioned case and to urge them to draw up a split tariff in connection with maintenance and industrial property rights:

1. for the full service including full responsibility for payment of fees and 
2. for the limited service of an agent of record relieved of the responsibility and legal liability of maintaining records for reminder purposes

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