IP Week, Crowne Plaza Brussels le Palace, December 6-9, 2011
World Intellectual Property Organization director general Dr Francis Gurry kicked off proceedings with a keynote speech that set the agenda for the rest of the conference.
His organisation’s recently-released report, World Intellectual Report: the Changing Face of Innovation, argues that innovation has evolved significantly. Gurry said that this has increased demands for IP protection and that it has forced IP into playing a central role in fi rm strategies and innovation policies.
A panel discussion on the ways in which organisations develop and benefit from their own innovation ecosystems was the highlight of day one. Professor Dr Martin Curley, director of Intel Labs Europe in Ireland, said that there are often competing innovation ecosystems in an organisation and the “faster and smarter one often wins out”.
Referring to the difficult financial climate in the EU, Curley added that Intel is doing it all it can to help by developing technology partnerships and innovating in EU countries. A network of Intel Exascale laboratories, which house supercomputers for research and development, is being established in Europe.
The fourth laboratory will be established in Barcelona in partnership with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. Curley said that 80 percent of the work that is being done on Exascale supercomputers in Europe would have been done in the US a few years ago. “[This is] innovation driven by need, not innovation driven by greed,” he said.
“CLOSER HARMONISATION ON PATENT POLICY MAY HELP INNOVATORS HAVE CONFIDENCE IN MARKETING THEIR INNOVATIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE, AND THIS CAN ONLY BE A GOOD THING.”
There were lively discussions on the unitary patent package that is being negotiated in Europe. On the unitary patent in its current proposed form, Pierre Delsaux, deputy director general of DG internal market and services at the European Commission, said that “at this stage, it is better to have something that is not perfect than to have nothing at all”. However, the unitary patent litigation system under consideration could cause problems. Delsaux said that IP professionals and owners should “forget about the patent” if an agreement on the unitary litigation system cannot be finalised.
In a press lunch, European Patent Office (EPO) president Benoît Battistelli discussed his office’s preparations for the unitary patent. He said that his office “will be ready” for the unitary patent and added that a three-level patent system in Europe—allowing applicants to choose from a national patent, a European patent and the unitary patent—will be benefi cial because “it is useful to offer a choice to the users”.
A separate panel highlighted European trademark enforcement reform as an important topic for brand owners. Th e Internet is a key reason for reforming the EU Enforcement Directive, according to Jean Bergevin of the European Commission.
"TRADE SECRETS AND CONSULTING SERVICES CAN ADD VALUE TO A LICENSING AGREEMENT."
He said that the Internet has enabled illicit activity, and that piracy and counterfeiting are “changing in nature” because of it. To help tackle counterfeiting in Europe, Bergevin said that improving criminal enforcement is one way that the commission could go, but EU member states “do not want us to”. He said that they prefer changes to civil enforcement.
DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol general counsel Herb Munsterman offered some top tips to the audience on what to be aware of when evaluating and purchasing IP. He said that in technology transfers “perception is everything”. The patents at the heart of negotiations need to be better than those already in the purchaser’s own portfolio, because “what it comes down to is making an improvement”.
Licensing activities should be customerfocused, Munsterman added. The licensor needs to understand its customer’s value chain and look at ways of adding value to a licence so it can form a long-term relationship with a customer. Trade secrets and consulting services can add value to a licensing agreement.
At the same time, Musterman explained, it is important that the licensor limits its own liabilities in the terms of a licence. Licensors have high margins with less risk, said Musterman, but they also have comparatively lower revenue than those that use patents.
