Pat-Tech Exchange preview

According to the organisers of the Pat-Tech Exchange, conference delegates at this year’s event in Dublin on June 14 and 15 have been “hand-picked for the unique advantage they bring” which, they promise, will create an “unparalleled level of discussion”.

IBM’s director of licensing, the head of European litigation at Nokia and a senior regional counsel at MasterCard are just some of a long list of speakers due to share their wisdom during the two-day event.

Day one

The meeting kicks off with a joint presentation on the global patent landscape and the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Nick Papageorgiadis, a lecturer in international business at the University of Liverpool and Michael Fröhlich, the European Patent Office’s senior director of legal affairs, will chair the discussion.

Papageorgiadis will introduce his research into a global patent indexing system and how it affects strategies around the world while Fröhlich will provide an introductory update on the latest information surrounding the UPC.

Later in the morning there will be a chance to hear news from closer to home as Fidelma Macken, a former judge at the Supreme Court of Ireland, addresses the conference.

Macken, who was also a judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union, will offer an insight into IP matters from the highest national and European levels.

For news on how legislation has changed abroad there will then be an update from one of the most important jurisdictions for IP owners, China.

During “Patent trends in China: an overseas guide to legislation, administration & the judiciary” representatives from China Pat Intellectual Property Office will provide updates on amendments to China’s patent law and an interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court’s application of laws. There will also be an introduction to the Chinese intellectual property courts.

From 3pm to 4pm you can take your pick from a selection of roundtable sessions on topics including how to leverage unregistered rights, patent analysis and searching, and how to manage risk with litigation funding.

“Take your pick from a selection of roundtable sessions on topics including how to leverage unregistered rights, patent analysis and searching, and how to manage risk with litigation funding.”

To round off the day speakers including Clemens Heusch, head of European litigation at Nokia, and Peter Berg, chief IP counsel at Dräxlmaier group, will discuss patent enforcement strategies.

The discussion will cover which situations require enforcement and how patent strategy affects a company’s reputation.

Day two

To start day two we hear from IBM and its director of IP licensing Bruno Leduc, and a speaker from Swiss start-up Dacuda. Leduc will speak as part of a “David v Goliath” session exploring strategic IP comparisons. The session offers a strategic insight into licensing patents from two very different perspectives.

From 10am to 11:05am there will be a chance for delegates to attend one-to-one business meetings.

Throughout the afternoon, beginning at 2:35pm four concurrent roundtables will ask questions including how to raise your ‘competitive intelligence IQ’, what the perfect IP department looks like, how to manage the risks of joint ventures and how to balance your legal process between in-housing versus outsourcing.

To close the event there will be a chance to hear speakers from MasterCard, Ericsson and Qualcomm.

Sean Harte, senior regional counsel at MasterCard and Roger Bou Faical, director of patent unit at Ericsson, will join a discussion on the question of patent quality versus quantity.

This question can be a difficult one to answer for tech-centric IP departments looking to expand or simply manage their patent portfolios. The session gives guidance on how you can ensure your patent portfolio is the optimum size and quality for your IP strategy.

The final session of the day sees Daniel Hermele, senior director and legal counsel at Qualcomm, and Mairi Gibbs, head of operations at Isis Innovation, a subsidiary of the University of Oxford, explain how licensing your company’s innovation output can ensure the best value from research and development.

The Pat-Tech Exchange is being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin on June 14 and 15. For more details visit www.globalpatentstrategyexchange.com/