Plenary 2 // What AI and frontier technologies mean for IP Practitioners and IP Offices

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, Intellectual Property (IP) offices are increasingly integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and frontier technologies to streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and improve service delivery.
This shift is transforming how practitioners interact with IP systems, from patent filings to trade mark searches, providing new tools for efficiency and accuracy.

This overview explores the impact of these technologies within IP offices, highlighting their potential to automate routine tasks, predict outcomes, and foster global collaboration.

It also examines the challenges and opportunities these innovations present for IP professionals as they adapt to an evolving landscape.

Moderator: Elia Sugrañes
Speakers: João Negrão, Ken-Ichiro Natsume, Nellie Simon, Ruifeng Wang & Akira Yoshimori

Cooperation and synergism between R&D and marketing departments, in-house and outside patent counsel

Two opposing interests are often pitted against one another in the patent world.

On the one hand there are the researchers who are keen to publish the results of their activities in scientific literature as soon as possible, and the marketing people who are keen to advertise new products well in advance of placing them on the market.

While on the other hand, there are the in-house and outside patent counsel who want sufficient time to assess whether enough data has been generated or experiments done to support a patent filing, and if so, additional time to draft and file a patent application before those publication and marketing activities take place.

The in-house and outside patent counsel often need to plead with the researchers and marketing people to defer their publication and advertising activities at least until a patent application has been filed.

Is there a way to properly balance those two interests? Many companies, universities and research institutes have internal procedures for achieving this balance but frequently face problems in implementing those procedures.  How could the various departments cooperate to achieve this goal? What is or could be the role of outside counsel in such a scenario?

Moderator: Dr. Roberto Pistolesi
Speakers: Alessandro Biraghi, Markus Gruber, Michael J. Kline & Daniel J. Warren

Plenary 3 // Removing the cloak of invisibility

Having a diverse organisation is a strength both inside a firm and externally with client relationships.  

An important, yet often times overlooked, aspect of diversity are members of invisible underrepresented groups who are only identified through self-reporting. 

Invisible diversities can include LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, FIGLI (first generation, limited income), veterans, religion.  This session will discuss the unique challenges faced by individuals with an invisible diversity and how law firms can provide a supportive environment for members of an invisible diverse class.  

This session will also consider how the unique experiences of these underrepresented groups are an asset to a law firm both internally and with client relationships. 

Moderator: Dr. MaryAnne Armstrong
Speakers: Dr. Hannah Brown, Dr. Claire Gregg & Prof. Laura Heymann

Plenary 4 // Your business development strategy: size does matter

Crafting a unified business development strategy for firms of all sizes

A cohesive, firm-wide business development strategy is a comprehensive approach that aligns all departments and resources towards common goals, ensuring that every aspect of the firm works in harmony to achieve growth and success. This is essential for an IP firm to navigate the competitive landscape, attract and retain clients, and ultimately drive the firm’s long-term success.

This session lays out essential components of a unified BD strategy such as: cross-departmental collaboration, market analysis, goal setting and KPIs, CRM, training and development, and more.

A unique perspective is provided by examining these components through the lens of three different sized firms: small, medium, and large. Three BD leaders will explain how they led the change in developing their business development strategies within their respective sized firms and will share encountered pitfalls in its development and implementation.  

Additionally, a business development expert will provide feedback on their strategies, offering valuable insights and actionable advice. The session will explore and discuss how the speaker’s challenges were addressed and, in some cases, successfully overcome.

Understand how to craft a unified business development strategy that can drive growth and success, regardless of your firm's size. Learn from real-world experiences and expert analysis and take away practical knowledge that you can apply to your own business development efforts.

Moderator: Laura Mannering
Speakers: Phil Cox, Dr Ronelle Geldenhuys, Dima Litvak & Sharad Vadehra

Inventorship: Who, what, when, where, how, and why?

In this session, we will don our detective hats to focus on the legal nature of inventorship across various jurisdictions.

We will consider the requirements of inventorship and how best to obtain the information needed to conduct an inventorship analysis.

We will also discuss what can happen if an incorrect person is listed as an inventor or an inventor is omitted, how AI can affect inventorship, and how to correct inventorship when necessary.

We will round off the session by providing you with a step-by-step approach to determining inventorship according to best practice across the jurisdictions covered.

Moderator: Britta Fromow
Speakers: R. Danny Huntington, Dr. Malte Köllner & Takayoshi Kawai