Statutes of the International Association European Policy for Intellectual Property (EPIP)
§ 1. The name of the association is European Policy for Intellectual Property (EPIP).
a. The permanent address of the association is Kilevej 14A, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark
§ 2. EPIP is an international, independent, interdisciplinary, non-profit association of researchers formed by individual members.
§ 3. The objectives of the Association are:
a. To promote and conduct research regarding economic, legal, social, political and historical aspects of intellectual property rights at national, European and international levels.
b. To be the leading European platform for the analysis and discussion of intellectual property systems and intangible assets.
c. To contribute ideas, concepts and discussions that will promote innovation and productivity in Europe and beyond.
d. To inform and to encourage policy-oriented discussion involving political and administrative bodies and stakeholders in Europe.
e. To cooperate with other associations with similar objectives and membership.
§ 4. The activities of EPIP include
a. To organize an annual conference and convention of EPIP members with presentations of original, interdisciplinary research related to the objectives laid down in §3, open to the academic community at large and with meritocratic selection of contributions.
b. To organize one or several workshops, possibly organised in association with other institutions and individuals committed to the objectives laid down in §3.
c. To promote the training and education of young researchers in the field of IP and intangible assets.
d. To organize seminars on institutional aspects of IP, seeking to improve the quality of doctoral research in Europe.
e. To create an internet platform through which researchers can make available information and research results related to issues of intellectual property and through which members may communicate with each other.
f. To create the conditions facilitating the sharing of data and other research tools among researchers.
§ 5. This Association is constituted under Danish Law.
§ 6. The membership of EPIP:
a) Members shall be any individuals undertaking research regarding intellectual property, or any individuals interested in the results of such research.
b) Membership is conditional upon payment of annual membership fees. The fees for membership are decided by the Board of the Association.
c) Membership shall be denied to those who have not paid the annual membership fees.
d) Membership shall be denied to those whose behaviour is inappropriate to the objectives and cooperative spirit of this Association. This decision shall be made by two thirds of the Board and ratified by simple majority by the General Assembly.
e) Members have the right to be informed about the activities organized by the Association.
f) Members have the right to participate in the General Assembly, which shall take place according to §9.
g) Every member of the Association has the right to put up an issue to the agenda of the General Assembly. The request shall be sent to the Secretary General of the Association two weeks before the General Assembly. Otherwise the issue shall come under “other” in the agenda.
h) The members of the association are not personally responsible for the liabilities of the association.
§ 7. EPIP holds an ordinary General Assembly annually, coinciding with the annual conference of EPIP.
§ 8. Two members of the Board or one quarter of the total number of members of EPIP can call in an extraordinary General Assembly with a minimum of one month of notice. Those calling in the General Assembly shall previously notify formally the President and Secretary General of the Board to whom they shall provide reasons for such extraordinary event. Those calling in the extraordinary General Assembly shall communicate the agenda of the meeting to all the members of EPIP, also with one month of notice.
§ 9. The General Assembly:
a) Is composed of all individual members of the Association who are present or represented at the gathering.
b) Shall be chaired by the President of EPIP, by the Vice President, or by any member elected by the General Assembly by simple majority voting.
c) Shall keep records of its decisions.
d) Shall elect the Board of EPIP by simple majority voting.
e) Shall decide the Agenda of Activities of EPIP, which shall be in line with §2, §3 and §4 of these statutes, after the formal proposal put up by the Board and by simple majority voting.
f) Might change the statutes of the Association by a two thirds majority.
g) Might change the objectives of the Association by a four fifths majority, and with the formal acceptance of the Board by a two thirds majority.
h) Might dissolve the Association by a four fifths majority.
§ 10. Voting rules in the General Assembly:
a) Every member has one vote.
b) Individual members can be represented by a non-member in the General Assembly by submitting a letter with that intent to the Chairman.
c) In the General Assembly, at least as many members as there are Board members have to be represented in voting.
§ 11. The Board of EPIP consists of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 20 members, and is elected for a period of 3 years.
§ 12. The tasks of the Board are:
a) To convene a meeting at least once a year.
b) To formulate and to present to the General Assembly the annual Agenda of Activities of the Association, which shall be in line with §2, §3 and §4 of these statutes.
c) To administer and to make decisions regarding the implementation of the annual Agenda of Activities, following the lines of the mandate of the General Assembly.
d) To define the price of the individual membership fees.
e) To supervise and to be responsible for the correct unfolding of the practical work carried out by the executive committee of the Association.
f) To approve the budget.
g) To establish formal agreements of collaboration with third parties, which shall be in line with §2, §3 and §4 of these statutes.
h) To create ad-hoc working groups for managing particular activities. These groups will report to the Board.
§ 13. The Board shall appoint among its members and by simple majority voting an Executive Committee composed of four members assuming the following positions:
a) One President (one year)
b) One Vice-Presidents (President-Elect) (one year)
c) One Secretary General (three years)
d) One Treasurer (three years)
§ 14. The President is elected for one year. The Presidency will rotate after one year to the Vice Presidents
§ 15. The tasks of the Executive Committee are:
a) To implement all relevant operative decisions made by the Board.
b) To call in the General Assembly with a minimum of one month of notice.
c) To prepare the agenda for the issues to be discussed in the General Assembly.
d) To make decisions regarding the administration of the economic resources of the Association, including the preparation of an annual budget, in line with §2, §3 and §4 of these statutes and in concordance with the approved annual Agenda of Activities.
§16. The Board and the members of the Executive Committee:
a) The Board shall make decisions by a two thirds majority of its members.
b) Each member has one vote.
c) The Board is able to make decisions when the President or the Vice-President and half of the members of the Board are present.
d) In the absence of the President, the Vice-Presidents shall assume the President’s role.
e) The President chairs the meetings.
§ 17. The secretariat of the Association is in charge of carrying on the practical work related to the decisions of the Board, and shall be accountable to the Board.
§ 18. The Board decides where the secretariat of the Association shall be placed. This shall be typically located in the institution of the Secretary General.
§ 19. Each of the Treasurer and the President of the association have independent power of attorney. The Treasurer signs all formal agreements with the bank, manages the economic assets of the association and executes financial transactions. The President signs all other formal agreements, such as with sponsors and other external stakeholders. The Treasurer and the President shall act in accordance with the decisions by the board.
§ 20. If the President is permanently unable to fulfil her/his duties during his/her term, the power of attorney will be transferred to the Vice President (President-Elect). If the Treasurer is permanently unable to fulfil her/his duties during his/her term, the board will appoint an eligible successor.
Status revision approved by the General Assembly during the annual EPIP conference in Cambridge, Sept. 16, 2022.
Original statutes approved by the Founding Assembly of the EPIP Association in its meeting in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) on October 7th, 2005