We have great pleasure inviting you to the 2023 Annual Conference including the 104th Annual General Meeting which will be held in the harbour city Hobart, Tasmania, at the Hotel Grand Chancellor from Wednesday 26 to Friday 28 April 2023.

The first and last time the IPTA Conference was held in Hobart was 2012. With the rise of Tasmania as a clean and green destination of pristine beauty and bountiful gifts of nature, we could not wait to go back again and hope you will experience the conference with the same enjoyment as our Conference Committee has had putting it together.

Hobart, or Hobart Town as it used to be known, is home to the Muwinina people and the city recognises more than 40,000 years of Aboriginal heritage and connection with the land. Hobart (also known as nipaluna) is the second oldest capital city in Australia and was founded in 1804 as a British penal colony. Framed by the majestic Mount Wellington and estuary of the Derwent River, Hobart is a truly beautiful place and its tremendous fresh natural produce is to behold. It is a melting pot of landscape, history, culture, art, music, food and wine.

We have put every effort into creating a strong educational program with well-regarded presenters. Highlights of the program include a keynote presentation by Antony Taubman from the World Trade Organisation. Following on from our very successful "Super-Patents" session at our conference in Kingscliff this year, we are pleased to say at the upcoming conference we have both a "Super-Patents" and "Super-Trade Marks" session featuring a federal judge in each session being Justice Helen Rofe and Judge Julia Baird respectively. We are also very fortunate to have Alistair Scott from Airbus Industries who will be presenting a keynote session on the topic of "Having the Right Stuff".

On the social front, Wednesday evening kicks off with a Welcome Reception at "AURA" a rooftop space where you can get a 360-degree view of Hobart. On Thursday evening, we take a little drive to the Coal Valley, home to some of Tasmania's finest pinot noir wines, where we will enjoy an informal dinner at Frogmore Creek Winery. Get glammed up for the Hollywood theme on Friday night at our Gala Dinner which will be at Glen Albyn Estate, where the red carpet will be rolled out.

While all educational sessions and social events are included in the full delegate registration fee, day registration is available for those who cannot attend the whole conference. As usual, YIPTA members enjoy discounted registration fees and this year, we are pleased to provide discounted registration fees for members who are 70 plus years old.

In accordance with the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) guidelines, patent and trade marks attorneys attending the conference may claim one-hour CPE for each hour of business sessions they attend. This provides the opportunity to record approximately 18 hours of CPE as detailed in the program.

The deadline for conference registration is 10 April 2023.

We hope you will attend and look forward to seeing you.

Kind Regards