FBL Law Professor Delivers a Lecture for the World Intellectual Property Organisation China Summer School
FBL Law Professor Delivers a Lecture for the World Intellectual Property Organisation China Summer School
01
Sep
01/09/2025
Prof. Ângelo P. Rafael delivered a lecture on “Well-Known Trademarks in Tourist Destinations: The Case of Macau” for the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) 2025 China Summer School hosted by Sun Yat-sen University’s Law School in Shenzhen.
Prof. Ângelo P. Rafael, from the Faculty of Business and Law of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ), delivered a lecture, on Friday, 22 August 2025, on “Well-Known Trademarks in Tourist Destinations: The Case of Macau” for the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) 2025 China Summer School hosted by Sun Yat-sen University’s Law School in Shenzhen. More than 300 participants from around the world were in attendance, nearly a third of which were physically present, at the Sun Yat-sen’s newly built Shenzhen campus.
[Prof. Ângelo P. Rafael (centre) poses for a photo with participants of the WIPO Summer School]
The lecture highlighted the complexities of effectively protecting well-known trademarks in Macao. Specifically, it unpacked the years-long debate happening especially in the Region’s courts on whether tourists should be counted as part of the “relevant public” for determining whether a trademark is well-known in Macao and, thus, enjoys the added protection accorded by trademark law, or the scope should be limited to the local population. Furthermore, Prof. Rafael prompted to the participants a reflection on whether the legal problems arising in the Macao context can be identified in other tourist destinations or even in contexts where there is free movement of people between jurisdictions, such as in some regional integration contexts.
Prof. Rafael’s invitation to this WIPO Summer School furthers the collaboration between USJ’s Faculty of Business and Law and Sun Yat-sen University’s Law School. Recently, USJ Rector, Professor Stephen Morgan signed an institutional-level MOU with Sun Yat-sen University to foster cooperation in the fields of law and philosophy.
