Reviews of recent LES meetings worldwide.

November 2009

LES Korea International IP Conference Shares Knowledge

By Sun-Ryung Kim

The 2009 Seoul Intellectual Property International Conference was described as a success by LES Korea and AIPPI Korea, co-organizers of the conference.

This annual conference, which is the ninth of its kind this year, was held in Seoul on Nov. 12-15 at Westin Chosun. About 300 professionals from 34 countries participated in the conference to share knowledge and experience in its main program on “Intellectual Property Management and Commercialization.” A two-day add-on program also presented, “University-Industry Collaboration,” placing special emphasis on IP management in universities and research institutes, and strategic collaborations between the universities and industries.

Speakers at the conference included representatives from international GOs and NGOs, as well as corporate senior executives and university professors. The speakers included Wolf Meier-Ewert, Legal Affairs Officer of Intellectual Property Division, World Trade Organization (WTO), and Shuzo Uemura, former Deputy Director of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to name a few. Some of the keynote speakers from major corporations were, Dr. Joo Sup Kim from LG Display, Vice President and Head of IP Center who presented “Intellectual Property Management of a Large Korean
Corporation,” and Dr. Nobuyoshi Tanaka from Canon Inc., Senior Managing Director and Group Executive of Corporate Intellectual Property and Legal Headquarters, who presented “Global Company’s Intellectual Property Management and Patent Policy.”

Many of LES International Board members participated in the 2009 Seoul Intellectual Property International Conference.

The LES Board members who spoke at the conference sessions included Patrick O’Reilley, LESI President; Peter Hess, Treasurer; and Kevin Nachtrab, Vice President; in addition to many LES national chapter members from around the world.

Patrick O’Reilley, incumbent President of LES International, presented “Licensing and U.S. Universities” during the University-Industry Collaboration Program that preceded the conference’s main program. He also gave an informative presentation on “International Patent Exhaustion” during the main program.

Heinz Goddar, past president of LESI, spoke about “University-Industry Model Agreement in Germany,” followed by another presentation during the main program, titled “Price Differentiation and the Conundrum of Exhaustion Principles.” Peter Hess delivered a presentation on “How German Courts Deal.”

July 2009

LESI President Adam Liberman Visits LES Korea

On July 6, 2009 in Seoul, the LES Korea Board had the pleasure of having informal, open and engaged discussions with LESI President Adam Liberman on the workings of LES and how LES Korea could contribute. At the Board Meeting, he emphasized the vision of LESI in detail, especially broadening the engagement, governance, accountability, transparency and membership issues.

The LES Korea Board reiterated its commitment to the Reaching–Out program (visiting and organizing IP conferences in cooperation with local IP professionals in the South East Asia region in order to introduce the workings of LES since 2001); also to networking and education by bringing an annual international IP conference to Seoul for the benefit of its members (upcoming conference in November 2009). Focusing on the importance of education in the Society, there was lengthy discussions on how to enhance the society’s future education program and how LESI could assist the Society in such endeavors.

The meeting was attended by the Board members, Past-Presidents and a few members of LES Korea.

July 2009

LES Japan Annual Conference 2009

An annual event, the LES Japan Annual Conference 2009 was held on July 3 & 4 in Kyoto with more than 190 attendees. They included honorable guests such as the Mayor of Kyoto and Adam Libermen, President of LES International. The theme of the conference was “Tradition and Change” with three keynote presentations and three active workshops (WS-1; Licensing and Business Management, WS-2; Challenge and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals Industries and WS-3: New Model of Collaboration between Industries and Academia).

The conference was successful in all respects.

June 2009

LES Philippines Hosts LESI 2009 Annual Conference

By Patricia A.O. Bunye

The 2009 Annual Conference of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI), with the theme "Licensing in Emerging Economies," kicked off on the evening of June 7 with a warm welcome to the 278 registrants and at least 75 accompanying persons. It was preceded by the LESI International Delegates Meeting on June 6-7, and followed by a Train the Trainer course on June 11-12.

It was the first time that the Annual Conference was held in the Philippines, a source of great pride for our local members, in light of the many challenges we have faced in mounting this event.We have likened the process in bidding to host this conference to bidding to host the Olympics, as the seeds had to be planted many years ago. We formally submitted our application to host this conference in 2004, and were granted hosting rights the following year.

I am sure, that back then, the leadership of LESI thought it was audacious and utterly bold of LES Philippines, to even consider hosting the meeting, since our local society is relatively small compared to the other national societies that have hosted the annual conference in the past. Our small but committed Organizing Committee persevered nonetheless, motivated by the desire to put the Philippines on the world licensing map, and to do our share in highlighting what our country has to offer in terms of innovation, talent, skills and entrepreneurial spirit.

As we had our first plenary sessions on Monday, June 8, we were gratified to see the number of participants who had come to the Philippines notwithstanding the difficulties brought about by the global economic crisis and concerns about the AH1N1 virus.

We were likewise heartened to see the number of countries represented, defying expectations that the majority of the participants would be from the Asia Pacific Region, and that not too many from Europe or the Americas would travel to Manila.

Africa, particularly South Africa, was well represented as it is the venue for the 2010 Annual Conference. His Excellency, Pieter Vermeulen, South Africa Ambassador to the Philippines, honored us with his presence and gave his support to LES South Africa’s efforts to promote their conference.

The conference featured the same high quality plenary sessions, mini-plenary sessions and workshops that are the hallmarks of any LESI Annual Meeting. LES Philippines, however, put a distinctly Filipino stamp on this meeting with our unique brand of hospitality, tours and social events that we hope left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of all the attendees.

June 2009

LES B & I Annual Conference

June 24 & 25, 2009, Weetwood Hall, Leeds

By Dennis Schubauer

This year ’s annual conference was held at the tranquil Weetwood Hall in Leeds. The central location of the venue attracted attendees from around Britain and Ireland and the peaceful surroundings provided a contrast to the focus of the conference –"Exploiting IP and Negotiating IP Agreements in Troubled Times."

Despite the surroundings and the fine weather, the interesting and diverse presentations did well to lure participants indoors.

The first day started with a refreshing reminder from Barry Quest (Patent Attorney and Consultant, iPC2) of the importance of IP and the challenges faced by the IP profession in the current economic climate. This was followed by lunch which provided the first of many networking opportunities, where people could reacquaint themselves with familiar faces and meet new LES members.

After lunch, we armed ourselves with coffee and headed for a very interesting afternoon session. The afternoon program began with a series of presentations by Paula Walsh (Open Innovation Manager, GSK), Andrew Carlin (Head of Commercial Contracts, University of Reading), Gary Evans (Head of IP Management and Legal Services, University of Nottingham) and Ruth Keir (Executive Director, Pfizer) which revealed some interesting differences between the way universities and industry approach licensing negotiations. Each of the presentations prompted a number of questions from the audience, which further highlighted some of the friction points in negotiations.

This was followed, in a timely manner, by Steven Reese (Partner, Olswang LLP) discussing the contractual options that can be used to capture the changing objectives of universities and industry in licensing arrangements. Ronald Openshaw (CEO, Lucia Capital LLP) then provided a valuable insight into the way an investment banking adviser approaches the IP issues in the context of M&A transactions. The educational program for the day concluded with a panel discussion lead by Dai Davis (Partner, Brooke North LLP), Keith Hallinan (Attorney, Unilever) and Andrew Carlin which considered the practical steps that can be taken to improve the prospects of a successful negotiation (in particular, the problems that had been elucidated during the day’s presentations).

After a brief break, we headed to the Royal Armouries Museum where we were greeted with a glass of wine and the unique opportunity to mingle amongst 12th Century Mongolian warriors (including a life-size armour-clad elephant). The wine flowed freely, the conversation grew louder and, as always, with some difficulty people were encouraged to take their seats for dinner.

A fantastic meal followed which complemented the grand surroundings of the museum perfectly. After dinner, and possibly encouraged by the wine, a provocative debate ensued which re-opened the issue of the day, namely, the perceived difficulties with negotiations between universities and industry. Thankfully the debate was resolved amicably (without the need for recourse to any of the weapons on display around us), and after dinner we retired to the museum bar to continue exchanging war stories.

We returned to the hotel at a rather modest hour, but (I am told) a reasonable contingent continued the LES tradition of networking in the hotel bar until the early morning. The amount of coffee consumed at the breakfast tables the next day was perhaps evidence of the success of the late-night networking.

The morning session commenced with a presentation from Andrew Burton (Managing Director, Viking Fund) discussing the effects of the economic downturn on the availability of start-up funding and the valuation of IP. Mark Wilson (Director, GSK) provided an insightful analysis of the motives behind business unit divestment, with helpful references to case studies. The diverse topics continued with Richard Clack (solicitor, Pace Plc) revealing how collaboration agreements operate in the digital TV market and Chris Putt (Partner, Speechly Bircham LLP) providing a helpful introduction to acquisitions’ law. The conference

concluded with myself and Fred Satow (Partner, RSM Bentley Jennison & Co LLP) discussing the IP issues in the context of corporate insolvency.

I believe that once again the success of the Annual Conference owes much to the diversity of the LES B&I members (and the superb organisational efforts of Mark Wilson and the team at Northern Networking). The speakers and the attendees brought valuable practical experiences to the table from a range of very different backgrounds, and the willingness of everyone to contribute to discussions (both during presentations and socially) made this a memorable and educational occasion. I look forward keenly to the 2010 event, in particular to see how the next 12 months shape the way intellectual property is commercialised in these challenging times.

May 2009

"A Deal Evaluation Cream Tea—Due Diligence in Practice" (LES B&I (Scotland Branch))

By Caroline Sincock, Chair LES B&I (Scottish Branch)

The LES Scottish Branch welcomed over 80 people to its May 2009 joint event with the Intellectual Asset Centre – a ‘Cream Tea’ seminar on the role of due diligence in intellectual property-driven deals. The event was hosted by Committee member Stephen Robertson of Metis Partners and Secretary Seona Burnett of McGrigors LLP. We had a group of experienced speakers providing insight into their own due diligence practices and approaches.–all combining to provide an investor with a review of the executive team and a realistic appraisal of individual and team ability. This comprehensive process should also be of value to participants, with investors gaining insight into the management team and individuals they are investing in, as well as participants seeing personal and team benefits.

First to speak was Jim McRoberts, head of legal at ITI Scotland, assisted by director of commercialisation for ITI Techmedia, Gillian Brown, and ITI Scotland IP commercialisation manager for ITI Scotland, John Reid.

Set up in 2003 by Scottish Enterprise with the support of the Scottish Executive, the Intermediary Technology Institutes (ITI) are to identify and commercialise technologybased intellectual assets across three global market sectors. Jim said that with the ITI’s looking at a three-to-ten year time horizon when assessing opportunities, the diligence approach was a staged process, involving elements of technology analysis (including technology benchmarking), global market fore-sighting and IP opportunities, as well as an assessment of potential commercialisation partners and their ability to commit to and deliver on a market opportunity.

John explained that their commercialisation diligence involves a panel assessing the IPR (including patent landscaping), commercialisation routes, and market size estimates.

Gillian explained that the process is still-evolving with the goal but the aim is for the ITIs to serve as a technology platform provider.

Next up was Craig Thomson, a European Patent Attorney with Murgitroyd & Company, specialising in life sciences, medical devices and IP issues in China. From an investor point of view or indeed lender or assignee, said Craig, diligence needs to involve an assessment of many things but it must, of course, include IP. It’s critical to identify the key IP, confirm ownership, status, territorial coverage, validity etc, as well the commercial impact of the IP and the company’s freedom to operate.

Beyond the important issue of obtaining independent reports on the strength of the IPR, and whether the patents offer sufficient protection to the company, one of the principle elements of diligence, argued Craig, was understanding how the IP underpinned the business plan. "While there is a balance to be struck between the level of diligence and the potentially high cost of the process," said Craig, "any balanced report should aim to look at the advantages and disadvantages of the IP. There will always be problems identified, but it’s better to locate them during the diligence process than worry about them after the event."

After tea, scones, jam and cream was Graeme Sands, director of Specialist and Acquisition Finance at the Clydesdale Bank. Currently focused on the launch of a Clydesdale Bank pilot scheme to provide investment to high-growth, venture-capital backed, IP-rich technology businesses, Graeme told of the role that the bank had to play in providing debt funding. This bank funding, which would potentially avoid the need for equity dilution, would partly be focused on "intellectual property as a tangible intangible with a probable worth."

The bank does not undertake formal IP valuation, but diligence delivered by independent specialists could help it understand how the IP was utilised within the business, underpinning strategy and hopefully driving cash flow.

Other issues to look at include customer investment in product development, how embedded the company is with customers, as well as the link between the IP and individual know-how.

The bank’s diligence, explained Sands, needed to incorporate a view of what would happen to the IP in a distressed situation, namely insolvency. "That’s one difference between our approach and that of a VC. They look at when it goes right, we also look at when it goes wrong."

Last but by no means least, was Soraya Fenton, founder of Argyll Fenton, a specialist advisor in enhancing strategic performance through people. Soraya spoke about her company’s involvement in people diligence exercises, for example, for an investor. This diligence process would potentially involve bespoke competency/developmental questionnaires, behavioural profiling, in-depth structured interviews, 360-degree referencing and the identification of development needs

"The crucial thing," said Soraya, "is not to let the process be led by emotion rather than logic, or to be drawn by personalities rather than abilities. The diligence process should provide an independent and robust validation, beyond gut feel."

Thanks to our speakers and all who came along and to Darran Gardner of Metis Partners for expert note-taking.

April 2009

Successful Innovation Drives Change And Creates Impact

By Ellie Papathanasiou

Local and international experts on intellectual property (IP), entrepreneurship and commercialisation gathered in Canberra this year for the Annual LESANZ  conference entitled “Creating and Driving Impact.” The three day conference held in April, brought together thought leaders from around the world to discuss how  successful innovation can and has made a difference to business and society, and the tools and skills necessary to do so.

In the context of the current economic climate, delegates were told of the importance of a renewed commitment to investment in innovation and intellectual  property for the ongoing development of Australian and New Zealand economies. In his opening address, outgoing LESANZ President Simon Rowell said that, “In tough  times such as those we are experiencing now, investment in innovation can in fact help businesses improve efficiency and productivity that will ultimately benefit  the broader economy.”

The conference opened with a series of practical and targeted professional development workshops on topics such as pitching your innovation, biotechnology licensing,  IP intelligence and international patent enforcement. Over the next two days, speakers covered a range of areas relevant to innovation and intellectual property  including: public good and IP; perspectives on Australia’s recent innovation review; differing models of technology transfer from around the world; the impact of social  entrepreneurship in addressing social issues; indigenous commercialisation; the skills necessary for successful negotiation; how to address IP conflicts and ways to attract  venture capital funding.

The conference program also provided an opportunity for delegates to engage in robust discussion and debate on emerging areas of focus within innovation and intellectual  property. In his keynote address, James Malackowski, CEO of Ocean Tomo, provided insight into the development of global IP markets with the Ocean Tomo  300 Index and the novel concept of public IP auctions promising to revolutionise the transparency of patent pricing on a global scale.

Equally as insightful and interesting was the keynote address delivered on day three of the conference by Dr. Ramesh Mashelkar, the Chairman of the Global Research  Alliance. Dr. Mashelkar gave an inspiring presentation that cast light on the concept of ‘Indian Innovation—from ‘Ghandi to Gandhian Engineering.’ Here, he described  innovation as: “Doing things differently, making a big difference and making the impossible possible. The challenge for scientific innovators is to produce innovations  that include the excluded,” he said and quoted Ghandi who said: “I would praise every invention of science made for the benefit of all.” Dr. Mashelkar went on to  show examples of recent Indian innovations that are being used now to improve the lives of poverty-stricken individuals and communities.

From the intricacies of biotechnology licensing, to emerging IP markets and to the impact of new innovations on the lives of the under-privileged in the world,  the conference program highlighted just how much successful innovation can impact every facet of life and bring about positive change to not only businesses,  but communities and individuals. The 2009 Annual LESANZ conference was a resounding success, providing delegates with the opportunity to learn more about
innovation and IP, to share experiences from the field and to network with people from the sector.

In the words of one delegate, “I find one of the biggest values I get out of this organisation (LESANZ) is the great diversity of ideas from people all around the world  which culminates in the annual conference.”

The LESANZ Annual conference will be back in 2010, and will be held in Adelaide, South Australia from Thursday 22nd–Saturday 24th April 2010.

January 2009

Does IP Make For Burns’ Madness Or Enrichment?

By Caroline Sincock, Chair LES B&I (Scottish Branch)

Our LES (Scottish Branch) Burns’ Supper 2009 was a full-house of over 80 attendees, held in The New Club in Edinburgh, with its stunning view overlooking the floodlit castle, accompanied by appropriate expert piping, wee drams, and haggis, neeps and tatties! The evening was entitled “Does IP make for Burns’ madness or enrichment?” with two speakers offering opposing perspectives of the importance of intellectual property— all interwoven with some carefully-considered musings on how Scots poet Robert Burns would have viewed the subject.

Our pre-haggis speaker was Barry Quest of Wilson Gunn, past president of LES (Britain and Ireland) and current chair of the LESI Public Interest Group. Patents, mused Barry while paraphrasing Burns, were perhaps the “chieftains” of the IP race, with the first Scottish patents dating back to 1793 and their use by a textiles firm. A few hundred years later, the continued importance of patents to invention and innovation is illustrated by the approximately 9,000 patents utilised in the development of the Audi A6 car. While he recognised there needed to be a balance struck between self-interest and social
responsibility, the lack of IP protection had a clear impact on companies and economies—as illustrated by global pharmaceutical companies cutting hundreds of jobs as they wrestled with the impact of generic drug manufacturers and shrinking patent pipelines.

Barry added that IP protection was a fundamental right, acknowledged in Human Rights law and in the U.S. Constitution. “If [these rights] didn’t exist,” argued Barry, “we would invent them.” IP protection, concluded Barry, also facilitated licensing and technology transfer, the benefits of which were acknowledged by business in both the developed and developing world.

Robust counter-argument was put (post-haggis) by Patrick Harvie, Green MSP (Member of the Scottish
Parliament) for Glasgow and Convener of the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee, Convenor or Co-Convener of Cross Party Groups on Sexual Health, Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Food and International Development.

It seemed inevitable, argued Patrick, that in these days of digital downloads, peer network and open source software, that the protection afforded to intellectual property could soon be a thing of the past. Defenders of the IP faith may choose to “ignore, fight, then laugh at the problem” but they would ultimately lose, with a “rebalancing” process taking place, supported by computer technology and global networks like the Internet.

Instead of using a phrase such as “pirates” to describe those who take a different stance on IP protection and promote its free use, Patrick argued that IP protection principles should be geared towards the common good, offering advantages to all of society, not just corporates.

Perhaps, if the concept of IP had not existed, it would have been invented; but given how society is changing and taking into consideration the great inequalities that exist in the modern world, Patrick stated that it may be more useful to take the view that the concepts of IP protection need to be reinvented for the 21st century!

Our third (post-pudding) presenter, Stephen Taylor, of McGrigors LLP Technology and Commercial Team, had hard acts to follow, but expertly managed the now slightly rowdier crowd (this was after the toast-to-thehaggis!) running an interactive session, “How could IP have helped or hindered Burns if he were alive today.”

How the great Scots poet would have exploited his own personal brand produced a wide range of quality suggestions. Among the top exploitation ideas identified were:

• Wild Oats Organic Farm Company—Like the Prince Charles’ Duchy Originals brand, but with more sex and booze.
• Super Rabbie Tam O’Shanter—Grand Theft Auto meets Ghost n’ Goblins for the Xbox and Nintendo generation.
• The Burns Unit—An umbrella brand group akin to Richard Branson’s Virgin which would see Burns tout his wares in a variety of sectors, including music, fashion and TV.
• The Rabbie—branding iron for cattle.
• The Burns IVF Unit— “I’ve managed 13, let me help your dream come true.”

Appropriate prizes were awarded to the winning table!
Appropriately intellectually stimulated, entertained, fed and watered, the LES (Scottish Branch) Burns’ Supper concluded for another year!

Note: Many thanks to Darran Gardner, Director Metis Partners Ltd for expert note-taking.

November 2008

ATLET’s Third Seminar In Turkey - Successful Technology Licensing

By Omer Hiziroglu

Association for Technology and Licensing Executives in Turkey (ATLET) organized its third seminar on November 21, 2008 in Istanbul. As in the previous two events organized by ATLET, 08’s last event was attended by about 50 licensing professionals, IP experts, enterpreneurs and academicians.

Of particular note was the interest shown in ATLET’s program by various government agencies.

The event was sponsored by LES Germany, ATLET’s mentor society in its bid to become “LES Turkey” in October of 2009. In addition to LES Germany’s financial support, ATLET’s mentor society contributed to the success of the event through the efforts and dedication of three of its illustrious members: Prof. Dr. Heinz Goddar, tenderly referred to as “Godfather” by ATLET’s board of directors, Prof. Dr. Peter Chrocziel, a former LESI president, and Dr. Jochen “three stripe” Schaefer, now a veteran speaker of ATLET events.

The subject of this third event was on a par with ATLET’s mission of raising awareness on IPR, importance of IP as a strategic management tool and best practices in IP related agreements.

The morning session started with opening remarks delivered by Mr. Ersin Dereligil, the President of ATLET, followed by the presentations of the speakers outlining the basics of Licensing Agreements.

Prof. Goddar took the floor first and walked the audience through the content and structure of technology licensing agreements. Dr. Schaefer was next on the podium and delivered a lively presentation on “Negotiation Tactics in Licensing Projects.” To close the morning session, Prof. Chrocziel very successfully tackled the difficult topic of “Access to Technologies,” antitrust and competition law issues in Europe.

The morning session was concluded with an intense Q&A session directed to all three of the speakers.

The afternoon session was reserved for a mock licensing game. ATLET’s General Secretary, Omer Hiziroglu, had modified the Yankee Tech game to allow the audience to have an overview on how licensing negotiations are conducted. The modified script called for Prof. Goddar to act as Mr. Zamboni of Yankee Tech, Dr. Schaefer played the role of CEO of Jackson Industries and Mr. Hiziroglu acted as the CEO of Hemoglobal. While none of the actors who took part in the scripted licensing game expect a nomination for next year’s Academy Awards, the game fulfilled its intended purpose of illustrating, in somewhat simplified version, the negotiation process in licensing talks. The mock negotiations referred to main topics presented during the morning session and provided the audience with a practical perspective on the topics covered earlier that day.

Throughout 2009, ATLET will continue organizing events and the fourth seminar is tentatively scheduled for June of 2009. In the mean time, ATLET will launch its membership drive early in 2009 and continues to build its network and promote cooperation among several private, public and semipublic actors active in the field of IP, R&D, innovation and related matters. Within this spirit, ATLET has secured the cooperation of ISO (Istanbul Chamber of Industry) to complement that of ITO (Istanbul Chamber of Commerce) that had hosted the June 2008 event for ATLET.

Americas Innovation Tour: LES Andean Communities • LES Argentina • LES Brazil • LES Chile • LES Mexico • LES (USA & Canada)

The LESI Americas Committee and the LES national societies in the Americas will be working together to build on the success of this series of conferences and programs to develop new relationships in the Americas and continue to increase the membership and involvement in LESI during the coming year. The Americas Innovation Tour has provided valuable information that will be posted on LES Web sites. In addition, follow-up contact will be made with attendees and will include information on CLPTM. Larger committee plans include growing the Americas Committee and the National Societies, as well as a future Innovations Tour for LES Andean and LES Mexico Societies.

October 2008

LES France Conference Hosts 2008 Licensing Trends

On October 24th, 2008, LES France and LES Switzerland joined forces for a one-day conference in Lyon on “2008 Licensing Trends.”

The conference took place at the Radisson in Lyon, France about three hours by highway from Geneva and two hours by high-speed train from Paris. It’s a hotel located on top of the tallest skyscraper, offering a magnificent view of the city and its surroundings.

More than 80 participants from the two societies were welcomed by Hélène Santacruz, LES France vicepresident and Raymond Reuteler for LES Switzerland. Eleven speakers then succeeded one another throughout the day for a busy, but lively meeting. Patrick Pierre, CEA Valorization, started the day with a speech on IP value creation and the new tools developed in recent years to extract more value from an IP portfolio.

Various topics were then presented, ranging from the creation of a technology transfer department in a university to the venture capital view of IP through the licensing and diagnosis.

One presentation particularly appreciated was done by Andrew Bauer-Moore, Dupont de Nemours International, comparing the licensing strategy of two divisions working in two different markets having huge differences in terms of technology maturity, competition, etc. He demonstrated with much enthusiasm that a successful licensing program should be aligned with the market environment using an innovative approach. The success can potentially be measured by an increase in product sales and not only in licensing fees!

Finally, three companies presented their view on licensing trends. A wide spread of size and technology companies were represented, from a start-up of four persons to an international corporation of thousands of employees, and from the fields of microelectronics to vaccines.

The conference rounded off with a cocktail party to allow the participants to network, in the best tradition of LES. This first conference organized by LES France outside Paris was so successful that the board has decided to repeat the experience in 2009 at Bordeaux in cooperation with LES Spain.

A last word to mention is that, as it is now a tradition in the LES France, the detailed agenda of the conference is online at http://www.les-france.org/m2_sm2.php?m=2&sm=2 and the LES France members have access, at the same address, to the presentations.

Joint Meeting Of LES China, Chinese Taipei & Hong Kong - Resolution of Intellectural Property Disputes

By Yvonne Chua

LES China, LES Chinese Taipei and LES China and Hong Kong Chapter in conjunction with two mainland Chinese organizations, namely China Intellectual Property Association, Foreign Trade and Economic Trademark Chapter and China International Economics and Trade Arbitration Commission, South-China Sub-Commission (SCCIETAC), co-organized a one day event on “Resolution of Intellectual Property Disputes” in Shenzhen, China on 15 October 2008. The pre-meeting dinner was on 14 October 2008 with the courtesy of Transpacific IP.

This unprecedented joint meeting of the three jurisdictions was attended by over 100 registrants from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as the Philippines, U.S. and Germany. Distinguished speakers of the seminar included Deputy General-Secretary of SCCIETAC, Mr. Liu Xiaochun; Assistant Secretary General of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, Mr. Dennis Cai; Judge Chen Wenquan of Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court; and experienced IP practitioners and academics from different regions. They included LESI President-Elect Mr. Patrick O’Reilley; former President Mr. Heinz Goddar; President of LES Singapore, Mr. Daniel Koh; Executive Director of LES Chinese Taipei, Mr. David W.T. Su; and partners of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP and Deacons, respectively, Mr. John Alison and Ms. Charmaine Koo; Executive Director of Technology Licensing Office Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan, Mr. Simon H.W. Tsai; Chairman of PHYCOS International Co., Ltd. Mr. Paul S.P. Hsu; as well as Associate Professor of Graduate Institute of Intellectual Property National Chengchi University, Mr. George C.C. Chen.

The panelists spoke on IP dispute resolution from the broad international perspective with specific focuses on Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan emphasizing the factors which affect parties’ decision in choosing dispute resolution in court or by mediation. In China, the laws provide for mediation by judges as a first step and using Shenzhen’s figures, the number of IP cases resolved by mediation is rising. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, due to various reasons such as arbitrators’
lacking of power to order interim procedures, arbitration is more often resorted to where cases involved parties in cross-border conflicts. Where enforcement of decision is not an issue, litigation is still the means relied on to resolve disputes by domestic parties.

The Joint Meeting was sponsored by CCPIT Patent & Trademark Law Office, Wonderland Nurserygoods Co., Ltd., Transpacific IP and Crocs Asia Pte Ltd. After the meeting, attendees had a meaningful visit to Shenzhen Huawei Technology Co., Ltd.

LES Austria Seminar: IPR Management • Industry • University • Government • Lab Transactions

Pan European Conference And Delegates Meeting Amsterdam, The Netherlands Meeting Recap • September 26-30, 2008

LES Scandinavia Annual Conference 2008, Helsinki

 

First LES Sponsored Seminar Held In Istanbul

By Ersin Dereligil, President, ATLET

Association for Technology and Licensing Executives in Turkey (ATLET), the nucleous of a forthcoming "LES Turkey", organized first Licensing Seminar on December 10, 2007, entitled “Patent and Technology Management” at the Sabanci University, Tuzla, Istanbul.                                                           

The event was sponsored by LES Germany, as the Mentor Society of "LES Turkey". Co-sponsors were Sabanci University and Inovent. The Seminar attracted seventy five attendees, who came, in a very good mix, from industry, universities, and IP profession.

Turkey is an interesting example that started the IP protection in 1870s together with the most developed countries and but then with negligible developments till 1995. Turkey is now one of the five leading European countries in trademark field with more than 67.000 trademark applications per year, %82 of which were filed by Turkish applicants. However, patent figures are different and about 1.000 domestic applications in the total of 4.000. These two numbers are unacceptably below the expectations. Although patent and technology matters are understandable for the Turkish industry to some extent, it is now more important than ever to respond the question and problem of “How they should manage this such as to create value added assets in their firms and to develop a strategic understanding of the intellectual property protections.” 

With these expectations, the Seminar opening remarks were delivered by Ersin Dereligil, the President of ATLET, and by Haluk Bal, Secretary General of Sabanci University. In the sessions, three speakers presented five speeches: Mr. Ugur Yalciner, former President of the Turkish Patent Institute, Prof. Dr. Heinz Goddar, Past President of LESI; Partner, Boehmert & Boehmert and Dr. Jochen Schaefer, Partner, Hogan & Hartson Raue, the latter two speakers having been made available by LES Germany.

Mr. Yalciner provided his presentation on the “Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Importance Thereof”, notable for some important statistics illustrating the connection of IPR protection and economical development, together with some brief comments and examples about the IP practice of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Turkey. 

Prof. Dr. Heinz Goddar spoke on “Patent Enforcement in Europe and How to Defend Against It” by also focusing on Germany as an example thereof. The attendees took a keen interest on European legal approach with interesting examples and take part in the discussions particularly on torpedo action against an infringement lawsuit to slow down the first lawsuit by initiating another in a slower jurisdiction. As another topic, “Limits of Patent Protection” were explained with a particular emphasize on clinical trials and compulsory licensing by indicating several court decisions.

In the second session afternoon, Dr. Schaefer spoke on “Pro-active Use of Patent Protection – Licensing as a Business Strategy” and “German Example: IP infra-structure in SMEs – from Start to Maturity". In his speeches, key elements and types of licensing and their applications in related and combined business models such as franchising and merchandising were laid down. IP Infrastructure and business model of a sample company producing tennis balls and its chronological development history were the last but one of the spectacular presentation of the event.                                                                                  

The Seminar was made more interesting with a lively discussion between the speakers and the attendees. The Seminar was a success in view of the quality of the presentations and the interest that ATLET generated amongst possible new members. As a follow up, next seminar is planned to be in the Spring 2008 on ““Patenting and Licensing Game in Technological Competition” 

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