The Public Registries play a fundamental role in providing legal certainty regarding the ownership of rights and, consequently, in the economic development of the countries. Everyone wants its operation to be efficient and safe. Comparative law informs us that in Latin America, the registration offices of intellectual property rights have, from country to country, various competences, including in some cases, quasi-jurisdictional powers, eventually becoming Super Offices. The panelists will discuss the evolution of certain intellectual property offices in the Americas and what this has meant for operational purposes and the pros and cons of concentrating legal powers on enforcement in those offices.

Speakers:

	Ruth Lockward	National Office of Industrial Property – NOIP (Dominican Republic Dominicana)
	Damaso Pardo	National Institute of Industrial Property (Argentina)
	Ray Meloni	National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Peru)
	Sylvia Ruíz	Intellectual Property Registry – Guatemala
	Luiz Otávio Pimentel	National Institute of Industrial Property (Brazil)
	Laura Hammel	U.S. Patent & Trademark Office – USPTO (Brazil)

Moderator:

Maria del Pilar Troncoso

President ASIPI (Dominican Republic)