Free Colloquium -- "Technological Progress, COVID-19 and the Future of Globalization"

VIT University Law School in Chennai, India is hosting a Zoom colloquium titled, “Technological Progress, COVID-19 and the Future of Globalization” on June 22 at 6:30 pm Indian Standard Time (6:00 am PST (California); 3:00 pm GMT+2 (Belgium) 9:00 pm GMT+8 (China)). The colloquium participants will offer their preliminary thoughts concerning issues ranging from intellectual property access to vaccine development and manufacturing to investment and the World Trade Organization.  Given the nature of the colloquium, we will not cover all potential issues.  However, a follow-up conference exploring these and additional issues in depth is tentatively scheduled for the Winter of 2020 or Spring of 2021 in Chennai. 

The participants in the Zoom colloquium include: Dean Gandhi Manimuthu (VIT Law); Mark Lemley (Stanford Law); Jim Chen (Michigan State Law); Martin Husovec (Tilburg University); Kirsten Schmalenbach (Univ. of Salzburg Law); Stephan Kirste (Univ. of Salzburg Law); Henrik Andersen (CBS Law); Liu Lina (Xi’an Jiaotong University); Prabash Ranjan (South Asian University); James Nedumpara (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade); Ana Rutchsman (St. Louis Law); Patrick Warto (Univ. of Salzburg Law); and Mike Mireles (Univ. of the Pacific, McGeorge Law).   If you are interested in participating via Zoom, please contact Mike Mireles at msmireles@gmail.com.  There are limited spots available.  Thank you!

Coming soon: "From IP to NP"

On 10 and 11 November 2013 this blogger will be attending a conference, "From IP to NP", organised by the AIPPI's Israel chapter.  The "NP" in this context stands for "net profit" and there is a strong international panel of speakers and contributors. The venue is the Dan Panorama Convention Center, Tel Aviv. David Kappos, Marshall Phelps and judges Randall R. Rader and Klaus Grabinski are among the participants.

Details of this conference, which will be concentrating on the business and commercial dimensions to IP exploitation, are available here.

I'd like to meet any readers of this blog who are attending the event: if you'll be there, do let me know by emailing me here.

Creating markets from research results: a new EPO event

Do you fall within the class of persons described as "senior-level decision-makers concerned with the commercialisation of public research, including national representatives of technology transfer offices (TTOs), representatives from ministries for education and research, higher education councils and funding agencies, the business and industry communities, and national patent offices"?  If so, a forthcoming event organised by the European Patent Office (EPO) might be just up your street.  Long gone are the days when the EPO confined its focus to the immediate functions of receiving, examining and granting patents and handling the large number of oppositions that followed: the EPO, like the other major regional and national patent offices, is increasingly aware of its interface with the business community. This conference represents continuing evidence of its commitment in this direction. You can register online here.

Creating markets from research results

6-7 May 2013
European Patent Office, Munich, Germany 

The role of universities in national innovation systems has expanded from the production of scientific knowledge for economic growth to include solving large scale challenges, such as climate change and energy and addressing social needs.

Without adequate strategies and policy support to manage IP effectively, there is a risk that inventions and ideas produced by universities and public research organisations may not be exploited. Such strategies and policies have therefore become a matter of top priority for policymakers, funding agencies and business, all of whom have a high degree of interest in the ability of universities to diffuse knowledge. Universities in turn have a strong interest in seeing their research put to good use for society and in enhancing their relevance to society, including through collaboration and economic development.

While the prospect of using the commercialisation of IP as a source of additional income for research is not a realistic priority for most universities, IP management remains an important element in any university’s strategy,particularly in the context of the EU Horizon 2020. The different roles, missions and resources of universities and public research organisations can lead to differences in IP policies and commercialisation practices, which can be a driver or a barrier to commercialisation. There is therefore a need for a deeper understanding of their impact on both research and commercialisation.

The conference therefore aims to:

• promote understanding and awareness of the importance of IP policies and procedures for the long-term strategy and mission of universities and public research organisations;
• promote the establishment of structures which will allow the implementation of IP management in universities;
• identify novel practices for fostering and accelerating the transfer, exploitation and commercialisation of knowledge with a view to developing international best practice; and
• encourage closer collaboration between universities and industry.

"Open Innovation: the Challenges and Solutions"

Only yesterday this weblog posted information concerning a topic meeting on 24 November at the University of Leuven, Belgium, on "Open Innovation: Barrier or Enabler?" Today we post an announcement concerning "Open Innovation: the Challenges and Solutions", a half-day conference in the British Library's Conference Centre, London, on 29 November, which has been brought to this blogger's attention by Creative Barcode CEO Maxine Horn -- one of the conference participants. You can get full details of this event here.

It would be too early to say that the bandwagon of open innovation is sweeping across Europe, but it is fair to say that business models based on open innovation rather than on self-sufficiency in innovation and the preservation of exclusivity in one's technology are finally gaining ground.  Since they require less financial investment, they are less vulnerable to the availability of credit; and they have the potential to evolve into arrangements which are less formal than FRAND-based standards while at the same time retaining many of their benefits.

Glasgow conference coming up

Andrea Tosato (Lecturer in Law, Bournemouth University) has written to inform IP Finance of a conference which is being held on the subject ISO 10668 (Brand Value) – Innovation in Practice. A strong panel of speakers, comprising both practitioners and academics, will be on display, Topics covered include brand valuation (ISO 10668), security interests over IP rights, leveraging IP rights and trade secrets valuation.

The event is being held on 24 October 2011 at the University of Glasgow. Full details are available here.

Andrea is far too modest to confess that he is one of the speakers and that he will be tackling security interests over IP rights under UK and international law.  IP Finance is not too shy to ask anyone who is attending to let this weblog have reports on the various sessions and, if possible, copies of any papers circulated.

IP and Finance conference: a reminder!

Intellectual Property and Finance 2010: exploring and explaining the financial dimensions of IPRs is the title of a one-day conference, organised by CLT Conferences and scheduled to be held in Central London on 20 October. The day is chaired by IP Finance blogmeister Jeremy, and the speakers include three IP Finance team members past and present -- Anne Fairpo ("Taxation of IP: where do I start?"), Ian Hartwell ("Risk Management in IPR Ventures") and Louise O'Callaghan ("Insolvency: what does it mean for IP owners and those who do business with them?").

As is so often the custom these days, there's a competition attached to this conference, the first prize being complimentary admission to the conference, inclusive of a tasty lunch (thus saving you the trouble of forking out £495 + VAT for registration).

The competition is a simple one. We all receive scam emails Some are from people purporting to be in possession of funds which can only be released once the recipient has himself paid some cash over to the scammer, or which require the recipient to part with his confidential online login and password details. Your task, in entering this competition, is to compose a plausible scam email which seeks to entice recipients to invest money in an imaginary IP-protected business venture of your choosing. Entries should not exceed 500 words unless they're very good ...

Entries should be emailed to Jeremy here, with the subject line "IP begging letter". The competition ends at close of play on Sunday 3 October and the winning entry will be published on this weblog shortly thereafter.

You can read the conference programme in full here.

Ownership and Control of IP Rights: forthcoming event

"Ownership and Control of IP Rights: guidance on the complicated issues which arise with these increasingly important assets" is the title of a one-day conference, organised by CLT Conferences and held in Central London on Monday 10 May 2010.

Topic covered are

* Ownership and Control of IP: What are the Key Issues?
* Ownership and Control of IP in Joint Ventures and Collaborations
* IP and Abuse of Control
* Commissioned Works and the Special Position of the Independent Contractor
* Inventions and Innovations Created by Employees: who Owns, who Controls?
* Extra Remuneration for Employee Inventors: When is An Employee Inventor Entitled to Additional Remuneration?
* Ownership and Control of IP: Practical Guidance for Acquisitions

The full brochure and speaker details can be seen here. There's even a "Compose an Anthem" competition (here), for which the prize is complimentary admission. IP Finance team member Jeremy is in the chair. See you there?