Dear
Volunteer Attorney:
Thank you for agreeing to serve as a volunteer attorney in the International Advisory Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, ABA Section of International Law, and the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy. The purpose of the program is to assist small and medium size (SME) U.S. enterprises in protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Egypt, and Thailand. This is how the program will work.
The ABA Section of International Law has compiled a list of volunteer attorneys such as yourself whom have expressed expertise in protecting IP in Brazil, Russia, India, China, Egypt, or Thailand and will maintain and update that list as you and others provide us with updated information. Please fill out the form below and note your particular areas of expertise so that we may best make use of your skills in this program.
We and the Department of Commerce, and the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy (CACP) have publicized the existence of the program and/or have posted contact information for potential users of the program (SMEs) on our web sites. When a SME has a question or problem related to IP protection in one of these countries, it will contact the ABA Section of International Law office directly or through the Department of Commerce or CACP. The SME will complete a very brief questionnaire to reveal the nature of its problem and relevant background information. Section of International Law staff (along with, in some cases, IP Committee members) then will match the SME to one of the attorneys on our list for the free, one hour consultation. Contact information will be provided to both parties, and the parties would then be on their own to set up the one hour consultation.* We will endeavor to obtain feedback from both the SME and attorney regarding the experience.
By enrolling in this program, you have agreed to provide up to one (1) hour of consultation with each SME to which you are matched, free of charge. While we expect that most consultations will be by email or telephone, you are free to arrange whatever method works best for you. After the free one hour consultation, you and the SME may arrange for additional representation, if any, on whatever terms you agree on.
If at any time you wish to resign from the program, please contact Christina Heid or ABA staff (introl@staff.abanet.org). Other questions may be directed to IP and China Law committee leaders Scott Bain (sbain@riaa.com) and Adam Bobrow (abobrow@larkintrade.com), respectively.
Please note that the ABA and the ABA Section of International Law provide no warranties or representations regarding the nature and number of SME issues to which you will be assigned, nor the results of such matches, nor the quality or nature of your services. Your participation and providing of advice to SMEs presumably will be governed by the rules of your firm and the relevant jurisdictions in which you are practicing, so it would be wise to check such rules in advance. Decisions regarding "matching" are in the sole discretion of the ABA Section of International Law (in some cases in consultation with the other sponsoring groups).
Thank You!
*
If a conflict
arises with the
attorney to whom
the ABA matched
the SME, the ABA
will attempt to
provide an alternative
match.
Disclaimer:
The ABA is not
providing legal
advice in connection
with this program,
and is not responsible
for and makes
no warranty
regarding advice
received or
services performed
(or not performed)
by any volunteer
attorneys or
others in connection
with this program.
By using this
service, the
user agrees
to these terms. |
