International Conference on intellectual property rights, organized in honor of Prof. Joseph Strauss, took place at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law  on 14 November 2015. Prof. Joseph Strauss is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich. The conference was co-organized by the Faculty of Law, the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia and the European Patent Organisation.

The conference entitled “The role of intellectual property in a fit of economies of the Western Balkans in the global market” was comprised of three sections. In the first section, entitled “Is there a need for special rules of intellectual property and the rules of competition in the pharmaceutical sector?”, Dr. Slobodan Marković, Professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, Borut Lekše, vice president of the company “Krka”, Dr. Božin Vlašković, Professor at University of Kragujevac and Dr. Dušan Popović, Associate Professor at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, took part. The first section was chaired by Marija Sofronijević, director of legal affairs in “Roche” company. Afterwards, Prof. Dr. Jozef Straus held a final thematic exposition.

In the second section, entitled “The software industry as an example of a truly global industry,”  Dr. Miha Trampuž, director of the Authors Agency Slovenia, doc. Dr Sanja Radovanović, Associate Professor at University of Novi Sad, and Maja Bogataj Jančić, Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property in Ljubljana took part. The second section was chaired by Dr. Vesna Besarović, retired Professor  at  the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law.

In the third section, entitled “Other challenges related to innovation in a globalized economy,” following speakers were presenting: Prof. Krešimir Sajko from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr Marko Ilešič, Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Prof. Dr Peter Grilć from the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr Radovan Vukadinović from the University of Kragujevac Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr Igor Gliha from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Law, Associate Professor Dr. Iza Razi Mešević Kordić from the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Law, and the Assistant Professor Dr. Sonja Lučić, from the University of Kragujevac Faculty of Law. The third section was chaired by Dr. David Jelerčič of the European Patent Organisation.

The conference was held in Serbian and English, with simultaneous translation.