Greeting - Keynote Speech 1

Shoichiro Toyoda

Chairman of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII) and Honorary Chairman and Director of Toyota Motor Corporation

Born in 1925, Mr. Toyoda graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Nagoya University’s School of Engineering in 1947. He later earned a doctorate in engineering. In 1952, he joined Toyota Motor Company where he was promoted to managing director in 1961, senior managing director in 1967, and executive vice president in 1972. In 1981, he was named president of Toyota Motor Sales Company, Toyota’s marketing organization. In 1982, the sales and production organizations were merged to form Toyota Motor Corporation, and Mr. Toyoda served as company president. He was appointed chairman in 1992 and made honorary chairman in 1999. He also serves as Executive Committee Member of the Institute for International Economic Studies, chairman and chief executive officer of Toyota Central R&D Labs, and representative director of Genesis Research Institute.

In June 2002, Mr. Toyoda assumed office as the twelfth chairman of the JIII, a position he still holds today. He is also chairman of the Japan Association for the 2005 World Exposition, honorary chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), chairman of the Automobile Business Association of Japan, and chairman of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Machine Industry. He also serves as chairman of both Saiseikai and the Japan Rehabilitation Aid Association.

Mr. Toyoda received the Deming Prize for Individuals in 1980 for his contribution to quality control in the field of automobile production and the Medal with Blue Ribbon from the Japanese government for outstanding public service through business in April 2002. His other awards include the Knight Commander (Second Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand (Thailand), Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), Knight Commander of the British Empire (UK), Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul (Brazil), Legion D’Honneur, Commandeur (France), Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star (Austria), Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Commander’s Cross with the Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

Keynote Speech 2

The Honorable Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad

Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad became the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16 July 1981. After twenty-two years, he stepped down from office on October 30, 2003.

Tun Dr. Mahathir was born on 20 Dec. 1925 in Alor Setar, the capital of the State of Kedah. In 1947 he gained admission into the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. Upon graduation he joined the Malaysian Government Service as a Medical Officer. He left government service in 1957 to set us his own practice in Alor Setar.

In 1974 Dr. Mahathir was appointed Minister of Education. In 1976 Dr. Mahathir was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in addition to his Education portfolio. Following a Cabinet reshuffle in January 1978 he relinquished the Education portfolio for that of Trade and Industry. As Minister of Trade and Industry he led several investment promotion missions overseas.

Dr. Mahathir was elected as Vice-President of UMNO in 1975. In 1978 he was elected the party’s Deputy President and in 1981 was appointed President of the party. He was returned as President in 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993 and 1996.

Under his leadership the ruling party, the Barisan National (National Front), won landslide victories in the 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1995 General Elections.

Tun Dr. Mahathir has also been conferred with many local and international awards. Among his many international awards are the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam from Saudi Arabia; the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding from India and the Order of Good Hope Class One Grand Cross from South Africa.

Tun Dr. Mahathir is married to a doctor, Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah bt Hj Mohd Ali.

Keynote Speech 3

Prof. Ryoji Noyori

Dr. Ryoji Noyori is currently the president of RIKEN, university professor of Nagoya University, principal fellow of the Center for Research and Development Strategy, Japan Science And Technology Agency, and chairman of the National University Evaluation Committee. He is and a doctor of engineering, and He is also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (the Roman Curia); a member of the Japan Academy; a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences (United States) and the Russian Academy of Sciences; an honorary member of the Chemical Society of Japan; and an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (United Kingdom). He has received honorary degrees from Munich University of Technology, University of Rennes 1, University of Bologna, University of Alicante, Uppsala University, University of Ottawa, and the University of Chicago.

Born in 1938, he graduated from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Engineering in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1963 with a master’s degree in industrial chemistry. After serving as an instructor at Kyoto University, and he became associate professor at Nagoya University in 1968 he and then went to the U.S. to work as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. After returning to Japan, Dr. Noyori was appointed professor at Nagoya University in 1972. He went on to assume the positions of dean of the Graduate School of Science (1997-1999), director of the Research Center for Materials Science (2000-2003), and director of the Institute for Advanced Research (2002-2003) at Nagoya University. He was a member of the Council of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (1996-2003) and president of the Chemical Society of Japan (2002-2003). He was appointed to his current posts in 2003. Dr. Noyori has received many awards including the Chemical Society of Japan Award (1985), the Asahi Prize (1992), the Japan Academy Prize (1995), Person of Cultural Merit (1998), the Order of Culture (2000), the Wolf Prize (2001), and the American Chemical Society’s Roger Adams Award (2001). In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Professor K. Barry Sharpless and Professor William S. Knowles for the development of catalytic asymmetric synthesis.

Keynote Speech 4

Mr. Jeffrey R. Immelt

Jeffrey R. Immelt, 48, is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of GE. Mr. Immelt, the 9th Chairman in GE’s 126-year history, was appointed to this post on September 7, 2001. Previously, Mr. Immelt served as President and Chairman-elect of GE from November 2000, when GE’s Board of Directors selected him to succeed John F. Welch. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Immelt had been President and CEO of GE Medical Systems, which is today a $12 billion leader in the healthcare industry.

He began his GE career in 1982. Over the last 22 years, Mr. Immelt has held a series of global leadership roles in GE's Plastics, Appliance, and Medical businesses. He became an Officer of GE in 1989, and joined the GE Capital Board in 1997.

He serves on the board of two non-profit organizations: Catalyst, devoted to advancing women in business; and Robin Hood, focused on addressing poverty in New York City. Mr. Immelt was named the Financial Times “Man of the Year” for 2003.

Mr. Immelt holds a B.A. degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth College (1978) and an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1982). He and his wife, Andrea, have one daughter.

Lead Speaker

Dr. Kamil Idris

Bachelor of Law (LLB) from Khartoum University, Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Political Science and Economic Theories from Cairo University, Master in International Law and International Affairs from Ohio University, Doctorate in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva University.

Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Secretary General of the International Union for the Protection of Plant Varieties, (Geneva, since November 1997); Attorney-at-Law, Advocate and Commissioner for Oaths, Sudan; Professor of International Law; Ambassador, Sudanese Foreign Service; Legal Adviser, Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations Office; Coordinator and Spokesman of the African Group and the Group of 77. Member, United Nations International Law Commission.

Doctor Honoris Cousa: From The State University of Moldova (1999), Franklin Pierce Law Center (1999), Fudan University (1999), University of National and World Economy (2000), University of Bucarest (2001), Hannam University (2001), Mongolian University of Science and Technology (2001), Matej Bel University (2001), National Technical University of Ukraine (2002) and Al Eman Al Mahdi University (2003). Honorary Professor of Laws, Peking University, China (1999).

Decorations: Sudan (1983, 2002), Egypt (1985, 2000, 2001), Senegal (1998), Russian Federation (1999, 2000), Saudi Arabia (1999), Slovakia (1999), Syrian Arab Republic (2000), Portuga1 (2001), Romania (2001), Mexico (2001), Republic of Moldova (2001), Cote d’Ivoire (2002), Poland (2002), Kyrgyzstan (2003) and Bulgaria (2003).

Panelist

Dr. Tamotsu Nomakuchi

STRATEGIC COUNCIL ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Prime Minister’s Office､ Member of the Council MeetingsCOUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY, Cabinet Office, Member of the Expert Panel on Management of Intellectual Properties

March 1963, Graduated from Kyoto University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics. March 1965, Completed master’s course at Graduate School of Science. April 1965, Entered Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Central R&D Laboratories, currently named Advanced Technology R&D Center, engaging in the research of electric discharge, combustion, energy conversion, etc. June 1993, General Manager of ex Central R&D Laboratories. June 1995, Member of the Board and General Manager, Information Technology R&D Center. June 1997, Managing Director and General Manager, R&D Headquarters. April 2001, Executive Vice President and Member of the Board, Group President - Information Systems. April 2002, Representative Director and President. June 2003, Member of the Board of Directors, President & CEO in connection with the separation of executive functions from the Board of Directors adopted in accordance with the revised commercial code.

April 2001~March 2003：Vice President, Japan Intellectual Property Association. Since March 2003：Member of the Council Meetings, Strategic Council on Intellectual Property, Prime Minister’s Office.

Member of: The Physical Society of Japan, Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, and Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence. Doctor of Engineering.

Panelist

Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Joseph Straus

Joseph Straus, Professor of Law (Universities of Munich and Ljubliana), Doctor Honoris Causa (Dr. jur. h.c.), Unversity of Ljubliana and University of Kragujevac, Marshall B. Coyne Visiting Professor of International and Comparative Law, George Washington University School of Law, and Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition Law and Tax Law, Munich, Chairman of the Managing Board, Munich Intellectual Property Law Center; Visiting Professor of Law, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, N.Y. (1989-1998). Author or co-author of more than 200 publications in the field of intellectual properly law.

Consultant to OECD, WIPO, UNCTAD. UNIDO, EC-Commission, World Bank, the German Parliament and the German Government, as well as the European Parliament and the European Patent Organization. Active in many international associations, e.g. Chair Intellectual Property Rights Committee of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO), Chair Program Committee, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), former President, International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP). Member Academia Europaea, and of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Corresponding Member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Recipient of the Science Award 2000 of the Foundation for German Science.

Panelist

Shinjiro Ono

Born in 1948, Mr. Shinjiro Ono graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Industrial Chemistry, and in April 1970, he joined the Japan Patent Office where he initially conducted patent examinations in the Polymer Division.

In 1978, Mr. Ono studied abroad in the United States (Chemical Abstracts Service, American Chemical Society), and in 1982, he departed for Geneva as First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Japan.

Subsequently, Mr. Ono held several positions in the JPO including Counselor for Patent Administration, Director of the Patent Information Policy Division, Deputy-Director General of the Fourth Examination Department, and Director-General of the Appeals Department.

As Director-General of the Appeals Department, Mr. Ono initiated reforms including the integration and unification of the opposition appeal system and the trials for invalidation system.

Mr. Ono was appointed Deputy Commissioner in June 2002. He has engaged in significantly strengthening the examination system in order to achieve timely patent examination, which is essential to transform Japan into an intellectual property-based nation, and vigorously advanced trilateral cooperation in patent examination and the international harmonization of IP systems to support globally the acquisition of a right.

Moderator

Fumitake Yoshida

Born in 1937, Fumitake Yoshida graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Tokyo University and joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (today’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) in April 1960. He staged overseas in London for one year and in Brussels for three years.

After serving as the director-general of the International Economic Affairs Department of MITI’s International Trade Policy Bureau, Mr. Yoshida became deputy director-general of that bureau. He was appointed commissioner of the Japan Patent Office in 1988, a position he held until his retirement in 1990.

At the Japan Patent Office, he was involved in the resolution of the friction over patents between Japan and the U.S.. Mr. Yoshida also promoted the establishment of an electronic patent application system. He also tried to increase substantially the number of patent examiners. In this way, made serious endeavor to prepare the foundation for dramatically shortening the period required for patent examinations.

After his retirement from the Patent Office, Mr. Yoshida worked as senior executive director of the Export-Import Bank of Japan and then served as Board Member at Tokyo Gas Company from 1992 to 2000.

During his work at the Export-Import Bank of Japan, Mr. Yoshida was involved in aid to Russia after the break up of the Soviet Union.

Mr. Yoshida contributed to the advancement of Tokyo Gas Company as head of the International Affairs Department and the Volume Sales Department. He was involved in district heating and cooling projects and retail electricity projects using city gas both in Japan and overseas.

He was appointed president of the JIII in 2000 and took on the additional role of JIII vice chairman in 2001. He is involved in the preparations for the events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the JIII.