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Yokohama’s Legacy of Interconnection at the 2025 AIPPI World Congress
Bringing together leading voices in intellectual property (IP) law for a total of 2,800 attendees, Yokohama hosted the 2025 AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) World Congress on September 13–16, 2025. Known for its strategic location and serving as a major transportation and business hub, Yokohama naturally aligns with one of the conference’s goals of facilitating global dialogues.
Yokohama’s robust infrastructure and history of welcoming international events make the city the perfect fit for AIPPI’s mission of building bridges across borders and harmonizing IP laws globally. Shoichi Okuyama, the AIPPI Immediate Past President, explains, “Intellectual property is uniquely international.” With PACIFICO Yokohama offering world-class facilities, easy access, and a commitment to sustainability, the 2025 AIPPI World Congress presented serious legal dialogue in a spirit of exchange—a spirit long fostered by its host city.
Shoichi Okuyama, Immediate Past President of AIPPI.
Nazli Korkut, the AIPPI secretary General (at the time of the Congress).
Global Perspectives Gathering in Yokohama, Japan’s Gateway to the World
With its accessible location, wealth of nearby hotels, and developed transportation system, Yokohama has helped facilitate greater attendance, expanding the congress’ international reach. As Okuyama reflected, “Yokohama is very close to Tokyo, where everything can be found. It’s just half an hour away. So it was a natural choice to have Yokohama as the venue for our congress.”
The AIPPI World Congress addressed Study Questions on various IP topics such as patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, and preliminary injunctions, which involved comparative research among national groups. “We collect opinions from different national groups and bring them together here in Yokohama,” explains Okuyama. “In that way, we obtain the collective opinion of AIPPI as agreed among many different countries.”
Against the backdrop of the downtown Minato Mirai 21 district (Yokohama's futuristic waterfront offering scenic views and walking paths, chic shopping areas, and entertainment), PACIFICO Yokohama provided not only the infrastructure needed by the congress but also a vibrant, energizing setting. “It's very important to have a convention center with neighboring hotels. I think this year’s location is a perfect match,” said Nazli Korkut, the AIPPI Secretary General. With multiple hotels within walking distance—offering a combined total of over 8,000 rooms—, the “perfect” designation of PACIFICO Yokohama is more than apt.
Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders Today
An AIPPI priority is to ensure, through facilitation rather than regulation, that new generations of professionals see intellectual property as a collaborative, global endeavor, not as a purely technical domain. Okuyama says, “There is also a young AIPPI committee, which we don't try to control. We just let them do what they want, like self-empowerment programs or other things we might never have thought of. They talk to each other and try to find solutions to problems among themselves.”
For events like this, Yokohama is more than just a venue. Drawing upon the resources of nearby Tokyo, it is a platform where emerging voices can uplift each other and interact with established expertise. For example, the opening ceremony of the congress included a speech by Mitsuko Miyagawa, a justice of the Supreme Court of Japan, who specializes in IP law.
Secretary General Korkut was enthusiastic about the Women in AIPPI event and the mentorship programs.
Power, Mentorship, and Global Connections in Yokohama
Diversity and inclusion are also addressed by AIPPI and are embodied in the annual Women in AIPPI event. For Korkut, this established gathering is more than a social get-together: “Almost one-third of the national groups are led by women right now. Across 34 committees, there are 35 women serving as either chair or vice chair, which demonstrates the broad influence of women within the AIPPI.” In Yokohama, the Women in AIPPI event found a fitting stage at the Yokohama Museum of Art’s Grand Gallery, a modern and spacious, sunlit, granite-filled hub for creativity and dialogue located a short walk from PACIFICO Yokohama. The Yokohama City Visitors Bureau (YCVB) introduced the venue—one of many unique venues in the city—to AIPPI, for which Korkut expressed the Association’s gratitude.
The focus on women extends beyond a single event. “We have programs in which women mentor women. The main idea is to empower the communities, strengthen the IP profession, and ensure that women feel this power,” explains Korkut. By combining cross-generational mentorship with international networking, Women in AIPPI nurtures leadership and fosters global partnerships—and it does so especially well in Yokohama, a city shaped by free exchange as the first Japanese port to open to the world in the 19th century.
How Yokohama Deepens Global Bonds Like No Other City
Beyond committees and resolutions, the 2025 AIPPI World Congress, with the help of the YCVB, offered a rich program of immersive experiences, from the Japanese tea ceremony to local arts and performances. Through this, the association created opportunities for professional networking and memorable personal connections with Japanese culture. Okuyama explains, “thanks to the people of YCVB, we managed to get the Minato Mirai Hall for our Kabuki performance,” which was enjoyed in a space combining grand architecture, community, and exceptional acoustics.
With theater performances, traditional Japanese court music, and Minato Mirai’s wonderful waterfront scenery, congress participants were immersed in Japanese tradition alongside refined hospitality. For Okuyama, these moments mattered as much as the legal debates: “I’m sure these were excellent networking opportunities.”
One wish Okuyama has for the participants of the 2025 Congress is that they “take their experience back home and make use of it one day.” In this way, they will carry on the spirit of a city defined by openness, innovation, and enduring global connections.
Networking and collaboration are cornerstones of AIPPI, according to Okuyama and Korkut.