Secretaries

ECTA (or “the Association”) has established the following criteria which apply to all ECTA Secretary Positions, in addition to the ECTA Committee Member Expectations and Responsibilities:

ECTA Committee Secretaries should expect to devote substantial time to their ECTA leadership responsibilities and bear their travel expenses to ECTA meetings and to other scheduled events.

Before an individual accepts to become an ECTA Committee Secretary, he or she should discuss the benefits, responsibilities and resource requirements with his / her company or firm management and acquire approval to actively and fully participate in ECTA in a senior leadership role.

Committee Secretary Expectations

Committee Secretaries are elected for a three-year term.Committee Secretaries may serve on the same committee for a second three-year term that means that they may be re-elected once, so the maximum time as a Committee Secretary is six years. If such Secretary was a regular member of the same Committee before, the total time of six years encompasses such time as a regular member.

ECTA Committee Secretaries are expected to dedicate adequate time for committee service per month. This can however vary, depending on the number of projects which have to be accomplished. Time commitments may also vary depending on the committee.

Most committees meet via conference calls, E-Mail exchange or in person. Committee Secretaries should expect to spend sufficient time to prepare for each committee meeting in collaboration with the Committee Chair and Vice Chair, including time spent preparing, editing and reviewing the agenda and related materials distributed to each committee member prior to the committee meeting. Committee Secretaries should be prepared to follow the discussions during the meetings and to prepare the meeting minutes as well as to update or edit all papers, minutes and other administrative materials of the Committee in accordance with the ECTA Guidelines and forms.

Committee Secretaries should report on their committee’s activities and accomplishments to the Management Committee and/or ECTA Council in case the Committee Chair and Vice Chair are unavailable. Committee Secretaries must adhere to conflict of interest, ethics and confidentiality policies as given by the ECTA code of conduct.

Committee Secretary Responsibilities

Committee Secretaries should – in addition to the responsibilities of committee members:

• actively support the mission of ECTA;

• cooperate closely with the Chair / Vice Chair demonstrate a depth of knowledge in national and EU trade mark law;

• attend the Annual and Council Meetings; monitor the committee’s activities in collaboration with the Chair/Vice Chair;

• ensure timely reporting to other committees (if applicable), the Second Vice President and staff;

• maintain records and relevant information on committee work;

• demonstrate a commitment to ECTA, e.g. by regular meeting attendance, national meetings and/or round tables;

• complete substantive tasks in a timely manner with high quality work product, especially draft/edit minutes of meetings, edit position papers and other documents in excellent format and in accordance with ECTA templates and guidelines; and

• resign from the committee when no longer able to support the mission or devote the necessary time to the committee. ECTA Committee Policy

Committees to which the Council delegate any of their powers must follow procedures which are based as far as they are applicable on those provisions of the Articles of the Association which govern the taking of decisions by the Council. The Council may make rules of procedure for all or any committees, which prevail over rules derived from the Articles of Association if they are not consistent with them. The Committee Secretary has a special responsibility to ensure that the work and the decisions of the respective committee are in line with these rules.

Committees currently in existence are noted on the website: www.ecta.eu