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BY-LAWS

IGI AISBL – IVZW

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IGI MEMBER CODE OF CONDUCT

By signing the IGI code of conduct, an IGI Member undertakes to abide by the following standards and procedures as a condition of admission and continuing membership in IGI – the Global Wallcoverings Association, be it is an IGI Ordinary Member or an IGI Associate Member ( hereafter together « IGI Members »), whatever is applicable:

A. Lawful conduct
IGI Members take compliance with the applicable laws and regulations for granted and are obliged to know, respect and comply with such applicable laws and regulations.

B. Mutual respect
IGI Members show respect to fellow IGI Members and their employees, representatives, officers and agents as an individual, irrespective of their ethnic origin, skin color, handicap, ideology, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, social background, gender or age. Each IGI Member is obliged to refrain from any kind of discrimination (e.g. disadvantaging, harassment, mobbing) and is obliged to make a respectful and fair cooperation with fellow IGI Members possible.

C. Fairness
The spirit of fairness for fellow IGI Members is a fundamental principle for IGI membership. IGI Members support fair competition and commercial practices and undertake to comply with competition, antitrust and commercial practice laws of the European Community. Behavior preventing or restricting fair competition and/or fair commercial practices are expressly forbidden. Such behavior includes but is not be limited to prohibited agreements on pricing, quotations, terms and conditions of sale, capacity requirements which are sensitive or relevant for the market, passing-off or otherwise making misrepresentations in relation to itself, its products or services.

The above applies not only to formal agreements which are by definition prohibited but also to coordinated behavior, for example informal discussions or informal agreements aiming to or causing a restriction of competition. United market approaches by IGI Members enabling commercial collaboration to increase sales are only acceptable if such united market approach, formal or informal, complies with all applicable competition and antitrust laws and if such united market approach is made clear to all fellow IGI Members through the IGI Executive Committee.

D. Avoidance of conflicts of interest
IGI Members undertake not to in any way defame, criticize, undermine, or take unfair advantage of a fellow IGI Member’s reputation or merchandise and should actively promote and encourage the highest level of integrity within the industry. IGI Members undertake to refrain from offering, granting, demanding and accepting benefits to or from fellow IGI Members for personal purposes, enrichment or with a view on influencing decision-making processes.

E. Undertaking of confidentiality
IGI Members are committed to protect all information supplied to IGI Members by the IGI organization in whatever form including oral, written and electronic (hereafter the “Confidential Information”).

Each IGI Member undertakes (i) not to disclose to any third party (meaning a non IGI member) the Confidential Information, and (ii) to take all appropriate measure to maintain confidentiality of such Confidential Information.

The obligation of confidentiality does not apply or will cease to apply to any Confidential Information for which the recipient IGI Member can reasonably demonstrate that such Confidential Information (i) was already known by the recipient IGI Member prior to disclosure by IGI as shown by the recipient IGI Member’s written records, (ii) is or becomes part of the public domain through no act or omission of the recipient IGI Member, (iii) is lawfully disclosed to an IGI Member by a third party on a non-confidential basis.

F. Involvement and support to IGI
Involvement and support of IGI Members is an essential part of the IGI’s raison d’être and all IGI Members undertake to supply all reasonable endeavors to ensure genuine involvement and support of the IGI’s Members.

IGI will not tolerate violations of this Code of Conduct. By signing this Code of Conduct, every IGI Member accepts all consequences taken by IGI regarding such violation, including but not limited to membership termination. The report on violation will be treated confidentially.

G. No copying
IGI Members undertake to endeavor to prevent the illegal copying of designs and the use of such illegal design copies in the wallcoverings industry. To this end, each IGI Ordinary Member shall comply with the following standards and procedures:

1. Designs for use in own wallcovering production
In accordance with all applicable laws, IGI Members shall use / supply only proprietary or duly licensed designs in relation to their own wallcovering production. In order to ensure to be entitled to the applicable intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyrights and design rights (hereafter “the IP Rights”), IGI Members shall keep and regularly update records that contain at least the following information:
– The date of creation of the design and the name of the designer;
–  If the IP Rights in the design concerned are not proprietary to the IGI Member:
• A deed of transfer, a deed of license, a design purchase invoice or any other     document confirming the lawful use of the IP Rights in the design concerned by the IGI Member;
• In addition, IGI strongly recommends to obtain a warranty by the assignor or the licensor (whatever is applicable) of a peaceful use of the concerned design by the IGI Member (and in particular that the concerned design does not breach the IP Rights of third parties).
– The relationship between the design on file and the design eventually produced on the wallcovering;
– A copy of the invoice for the first delivery of the wallcovering containing the design.

2. Designs used for production of wallcoverings on a commission basis
IGI Members shall only accept a design for supply / production of wallcoverings on a commission basis if the commissioner provides the IGI Member with the information referred to under G.1 above including full origin of the design. IGI Members shall keep further records of the designs processed for a commissioner as referred under G.1 above.

By signing the IGI Code of Conduct, IGI Members are committed to strict compliance with these standards.

 

ANTI TRUST GUIDELINES

Guidelines for Compliance with European Competition Law

IGI is committed to compliance with all applicable laws, including competition laws.  These Guidelines highlight a number of key concepts of competition law and how it can be ensured that IGI’s competition compliance policy is observed at all times.Members of IGI should be aware that exchanging commercially sensitive information even in the context of a trade association is a potential breach of European competition law and/or the national competition rules of the EU Member States. 

Correspondence, diary entries, personal notes, emails, figures agreed, documents exchanged in meetings can all be taken as evidence by a competition authority.
IGI’s premises as well as the company premises of IGI’s members and the private homes of directors may be searched in an investigation by the European Commission and/or a national competition authority. Violations of competition rules can lead to serious fines on individual members – up to 10% of each member’s individual annual turnover. IGI itself can also be fined – up to 10% of the sum of the total turnover of each infringing member.

Prohibited Activities

It is strictly prohibited for IGI’s members to discuss or agree on the following:

  • Prices
    Agreement on level of prices, agreement to consult on each other’s price lists or terms of sale or to exchange detailed information on each other’s production costs or to agree conditions of sale (such as discounts to be applied).
  • Market Sharing
    Agreeing geographical areas where members will not compete against each other.
  • Customer Allocation
    Allocating customers to whom the members will sell.    
  • Output Restrictions
    Agreement to restrict output or to establish quota systems allocating a specific part of the total industry output amongst IGI’s members.   
  • Bids
    Agreement on strategy for forthcoming tenders to private and public sector contracts and allocation of bids to individual members. 
  • Commercially Sensitive Information
    Exchanging commercially sensitive information (strategy or investment plans, costs, know-how etc.) between competitors such as, for example :
    • Sale or purchase prices;
    • Terms and conditions of sale;
    • Market Shares;
    • Company Specific costs;
    • Company-specific current and forecast market information;
    • Sales output;
    • Marketing or production plans.

Permissible Activities

It is permissible for IGI’s members to :

  • Exchange commercially sensitive information for statistics via an independent organisation which will aggregate the data and ensure that the data is sufficiently historic and that the report guarantees anonymity;
  • Undertake studies/research on legislative and environmental issues or issues of common concern to the industry;
  • Share costs for undertaking legitimate projects based on size of companies involved as long as there is no direct link with or exchange of commercially sensitive information such as, for example, market shares that are considered commercially sensitive (rule of thumb: less than 12 months old) or turnover figures that are not public;
  • Develop industry standards;
  • Analyse key economic trends;
  • Promote awareness of use of IGI arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution as an expeditious means of settling intellectual property disputes;
  • Negotiate preferential terms and conditions for participation in international industry fairs.

Conduct of IGI meetings

  • Once the agenda has been sent out, members should feel free to consult their legal department if they consider that any topic may involve the disclosure of commercially sensitive information in breach of the competition rules.  Any objectionable item should be removed from the agenda with all the members informed of the deletion. 
  • A competition lawyer should be invited to attend a meeting if there are any concerns that the topics may trespass on to sensitive areas for the members.
  • At the beginning of each meeting it is recommended that the Chairperson remind all members that the meeting is to conform with European competition law and that commercially sensitive information relating to prices, markets, output and commercially sensitive activities are not to be discussed either in the meeting or afterwards by IGI’s Members.
  • Avoid any presentation or discussion of topics covered by the Prohibited Activities list.
  • Commercially sensitive information to be used for the compilation of statistics (such as the information listed above in the “Prohibited Activities”) should be provided before the meeting to an independent organisation for onward processing (see detailed rules on preparation of statistics below).
  • Any member that considers information being provided to the meeting breaches the competition rules should interrupt the meeting and request that the information is not provided.  A minute of this objection should be made.  The members should not discuss this matter again until a legal opinion has been sought as to whether discussing this matter would be in breach of the competition rules.  
    If the members continue to discuss a matter that another member considers is in breach of the competition rules, the objecting member should leave the room and have this noted in the minutes. 
  • IGI should draft the minutes of meetings carefully and accurately.

ANTI TRUST GUIDELINES (next)

Preparation of Statistics Report

Statistics prepared in the following manner will be considered as being acceptable under competition law:

  • Independent Compiler
    Commercially sensitive data must not be compiled by a member or representative of a member but only by an independent body that is entirely independent from IGI or any member.  Compilation of data should ensure anonymity.
    No access to commercially sensitive information
    Any commercially sensitive information from individual members collated by IGI or by an independent compiler should not be accessible by the members of IGI.
    Computer programmes should be password protected and the paper copies of the sensitive information should be kept in a locked cupboard.  A cover note in front of the paper copy should make it clear that the information is not to be disclosed to members.
  • Aggregated Data
    Information compiled from commercially sensitive information should not be so accurate that individual companies’ details are provided or that it is possible for IGI’s members to reverse engineer the results to work out their competitors’ positions.
    This means that the data should be compiled by reference to sectors where there are a sufficient number of players.  Where there are three players or less in a given market or market segment, it should be discussed with IGI’s external lawyers whether it is necessary that the information is expanded to include other broader markets in order that accurate information is not disclosed. IGI’s external lawyers’ advice must be followed.
  • Historical Data
    Exchanges of aggregate information which is based on commercially sensitive information must relate to past market conditions so that it cannot be used by competitors to determine the future conduct of rivals. As a rule of thumb, such information should be at least a full 12 months old.
    Public Data
    IGI’s members can be provided with publicly available information.  However, publication of individualised commercially sensitive information does not make that information lawful where the information was provided by IGI’s members in the first place (e.g. to an industry magazine).
    Information provided in Annual Reports which involve disclosure of output and future conduct etc. should still not be discussed with competitors.
    If the data used has been made available through public channels such as official customs or trade reports, it would be useful to make it clear from where the information first appeared.

Drafting Correspondence

In general, correspondence between the members, minutes of meetings, diary entries, notes at meetings, documents handed out at meetings and computer records (including emails) can be copied in the course of an investigation for alleged breach of competition law by the European Commission.
However, correspondence with external lawyers on issues relating to competition law issues may be protected and should be clearly marked by the external lawyers concerned as being subject to legal privilege.
Correspondence with in-house lawyers is not guaranteed protection from the scope of an investigation.  Any documents sent to in-house counsel with a view to subsequent obtaining external legal advice on competition law compliance should be clearly marked “Confidential and Legally Privileged – Documents for External Legal Advice”.
In the event of an investigation, IGI or a member should not allow copies to be taken of documents marked as being subject to legal privilege.  If there is any doubt, these documents should be placed in a sealed envelope (signed by the company and the European Commission or national competition authority) for the European Courts or national court to determine whether the documents are subject to legal privilege.

Further Reading

Further reading can be found on the website of the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission: www.ec.europa.eu/competition

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE COMPOSITION

Technical Committee 2025 – 2026

The IGI Technical Committee’s purpose is to advise IGI on technical matters of common interest transcending corporate and national boundaries. The committee aims at establishing criteria and standards of performance of wallcoverings when used by the ultimate consumer. It liaises with national and international standards associations and trade associations to ensure the industry’s freedom to trade and to maintain a common industry response on technical matters. The Technical Committee meets 2-3 times a year.

Chair
Paul Vincke (BE)

Committee Members
Olivier Albert (F)
Scenolia

Karsten Brandt (D)
VDT

Dr. Christian Dams (D)
Marburger Tapetenfabrik
J.B. Schaefer GmbH & Co. KG

Dieter Gunst (B)
Grandeco Group

Rafaele Gussoni (I)
J V SpA

Zoe Slade (UK)
BCF ( British Coatings Federation)

Regi Williams  (USA)
Roysons

Associate Member Representatives
Lynn Schwarz (D)
Henkel KGaA

Aleksey Etin  (LT)
DG Dimense

Jeroen Van Bauwel (B)
Xeikon

Anna Brikh (F)
Ahlstrom

IGI Technical Consultants
Alison Henshaw (UK)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE COMPOSITION

Executive Committee 2025-2026

The IGI Executive Committee, working with a high level participation and support from IGI members is committed to address common goals such as ethical practices, quality standards, aesthetics, functionality, and innovation, and believe they can solve global problems more effectively. The Executive Committee meets 3 – 4 times a year.

President
James Watson (UK)
Surface Print

Committee Members
Maximilian Bercher (D)
Erismann & Cie GmbH

Philippe Debruyne (B)
Decoprint

Vehbi Güzel (Turkey)
Adawall

Ming Hu (CN)
Ningbo Yiteng Wallcoverings

Mauro Jannelli (I)
J&V

Gary Rizzo (USA)
Roysons

Lotta Samuelson (Sweden)
Boras Tapetfabrik

Pascal Siellet (FR)
UGEPA

Associate Member Representatives
Jean-Loup Duran (FR)
Ahlstrom

Michael Hottenträger (D)
Kämmerer Paper GmbH

Duncan Ross (UK)
AVA/CAD CAM

Ruud Sturme  (NL)
Canon

Technical Committee Chair
Paul Vincke (BE)

IGI Executive Director
Géraldine de Limelette (B)

Guests
Kartsen Brandt (D)- VDT
Alison Henshaw ( UK) – IGI Technical Consultant